Global Engagement Grant Awardees Announced

The Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility has awarded seven University of Minnesota faculty members Global Engagement Grants, funding that will be used to advance novel global health projects.

 This year’s awardees are:

• Benjamin J.S. Al-Haddad, MSc, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics | UMN Medical School
• Ronald Asiimwe, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Social Science | UMN College of Education and Human Development
• Jose Debes, MD, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine | UMN Medical School
• Elizabeth Gulleen, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases & International Medicine | UMN Medical School
• Satoshi Ishii, PhD, Associate Professor in the BioTechnology Institute | UMN College of Biological Sciences
• Richard MacLehose, PhD, Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health | UMN School of Public Health & Tenzin Namdul, TMD, PhD, Assistant Professor | UMN Center for Spirituality & Healing
• Vanessa Moll MD, PhD, FCCM, FASA, DESA, Professor and Vice Chair, Quality and Safety, Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Critical Care Medicine | UMN Medical School

The Global Engagement Grant Program — which offers grants ranging from $1,500 to $15,000 —  is unique in that it is open to UMN faculty and staff. These grants are also meant for projects that don’t fall into one category of education, research or capacity building; in many cases, the projects blend work from multiple disciplines. 

Global Engagement Grant projects must abide by CGHSR’s tenets of social responsibility and bidirectionality in addition to showcasing intellectual merit and evidence of interdisciplinary collaboration. 

2024-2025 Global Engagement Grant Recipients

SKoIRM Kiwoko: Screening Kinesiology of Infants at Risk of Movement Disorders

• PI: Benjamin J.S. al-Haddad, MSc, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics | UMN Medical School
• Co-PI: Angelina Kakooza-Mwesige, MBChB, MMed, PhD, Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer and Child Neurologist in the Department of Pediatrics & Child Health | Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
• Project Summary: “For this grant application, we aim to secure funds for a 4-day long training for physicians, occupational and physical therapists in Uganda (and the east African region broadly) for certification to administer and score the General Movements Assessment. We expect to train 25 professionals with expertise in pediatric neurology, neonatology, rehabilitation and physiotherapy including neonatal physical therapists from across the region. Importantly, this training has not been offered in Africa outside of South Africa and the assessment has never been validated with long-term outcomes in Africa. This training is a component of a larger research program aimed at validating the GMA for long-term outcomes in Africa, validating gestational age epigenetic clocks in this population and studying family effects of early prognostic information and therapeutic intervention.”

Training Ugandan Mental Health Professionals in a Family-Based Intervention for Adolescent Suicide Prevention: A Qualitative Exploration of Cultural Feasibility

• PI: Ronald Asiimwe, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Social Science | UMN College of Education and Human Development
• Co-PIs: Godfrey Zari Rukundo, MBChB, MMed Psych, FCAP, PhD, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry | Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; Rosco Kasujja, PhD,  Clinical Psychologist and Senior Lecturer, Department of Mental Health & Community Psychology | Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
• Project Summary: “In this project, we aim to train 40 Ugandan mental health professionals in delivering a family-based intervention for adolescent suicide prevention. Participants will enhance their knowledge of adolescent suicidality, including understanding current trends in Uganda and gaining practical skills for addressing adolescent suicidal ideation and behaviors within families. Second, we will collect qualitative insights from trained participants on the cultural relevance of the intervention and its components, particularly aspects that are well-suited to Ugandan families and those requiring cultural adaptation. This feedback will guide future refinement of the intervention to better fit local norms. Additionally, we will establish a sustainable model for ongoing support, mentorship, and supervision to ensure effective implementation of the intervention. Findings from our qualitative exploration will inform future adaptations and scaling efforts, thus contributing to more effective, culturally informed mental health care for adolescents at risk of suicide across Uganda.”

Development of Artificial Intelligence for Disease Prevention in Resource-Limited Settings

• PI: Jose Debes, MD, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine | UMN Medical School
• Co-PIs: Angelo Z. Mattos, Professor | UFCSPA-Brazil; Enrique Carrera, Profesor | USFQ-Ecuador; Furaha Serenti, Director | KCMC-Tanzania; Michael Vinikoor, Professor | Centre for Infectious Disease Research, Lusaka, Zambia
• Project Summary: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used worldwide in a variety of settings. Related to health, its uses range from disease prevention, to disease treatment and financial assessment among others. The highest potential for AI is likely on disease prevention in terms of screening for disease, i.e. Cancer. AI models need large amounts of data to perform properly. However, most of the data is originally obtained in resource-rich countries, with algorithm development in those settings, and the intention to later apply those algorithms for clinical applications in resource-limited settings. This represents an important gap that will limit the use of AI successfully in resource-limited settings, which is arguably the setting of highest benefit of AI. We propose to create a network of Global-AI to help train researchers in resource-limited settings in AI. Our approach will develop a short intense course, online with co-investigators in Brazil, Egypt and Tanzania, followed by monthly meetings that will use Ultrasound analyzed via AI for HCC screening as a model for learning. At the end of the project we expect the network researchers to understand AI algorithms, to understand the types of data and way to obtain the data for AI analysis and to have a general knowledge of issues that arise with AI projects.”

Adaptation and Evaluation of an E-Learning Platform for Antimicrobial Stewardship Training at The Uganda Cancer Institute

• PI: Elizabeth Gulleen, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases & International Medicine | UMN Medical School
• Co-PI: Alfred Komakech, BPharm, MSc, Head of Pharmacy | Uganda Cancer Institute 
• Project Summary: “Our overall objective is to develop and implement an e-learning antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) curriculum designed to teach Ugandan doctors and pharmacists principles of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and rational antibiotic use among patients receiving cancer treatment. We will achieve this objective in three steps: 1) curriculum development, 2) e-learning module development, and 3) implementation and evaluation of the e-learning modules among doctors and pharmacists at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI). This project will take place at the UCI, Uganda’s National Cancer Referral Center and the East African Center for Excellence in Oncology. The curriculum developed in this project can ultimately be disseminated to other cancer centers throughout East Africa with the goal of improving AMS among patients receiving cancer treatment in this setting.”

Building Capacity in Puerto Rico to Investigate Leptospira Environmental Contamination Under the Challenge of Climate Change

• PI: Satoshi Ishii, PhD, Associate Professor in the BioTechnology Institute | UMN College of Biological Sciences
• Co-PI: Claudia Munoz-Zanzi, DVM, PhD, Division of Environmental Health Sciences | UMN School of Public Health 
• Co-I: Luis Javier Santiago Ramos, DrPH, MPH, AHTg, Professor, Veterinary Technology Program | School of Health Professions, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico
• Project Summary: 
  • “Objective 1. To detect Leptospira in surface water sources in Puerto Rico.
    • Outcome 1a. The level of Leptospira contamination in water sources in Puerto Rico.
    • Outcome 1b. A prototype of the field-deployable system to detect Leptospira in water samples
  • Objective 2. To establish a network of Puerto Rico multidisciplinary investigators interested in Leptospira and other environmentally transmitted pathogens to build local capacity for research
    • Outcome 2. The expected outcome is the creation of a network of various investigators and an inventory of current laboratory capacity and data.”

Lifestyle Assessment and Monastic Aging Study (LAMAS) Engagement Project

• PIs: Richard MacLehose, PhD, Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health | UMN School of Public Health & Tenzin Namdul, TMD, PhD, Assistant Professor | UMN Center for Spirituality & Healing
• Co-PI: Gelek Gyatso, Geshe Lharampa, Monk | Drepung Losel Ling Monastery
• Project Summary: “This project will continue our long-standing collaboration with 6 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in India and expand to 5 additional monasteries. The collaboration with these monasteries will set the groundwork for an R01 submission. Specifically, we will:
  1. Engage with the senior leadership at the 6 monasteries where we have existing collaborations. This will allow us to build relationships with new abbots at 2 monasteries, continue active engagement with leadership at the other 4 monasteries, and collaborate on the design, timing, and implementation of the R01.
  2. Meet with leadership at 5 newly recruited monasteries to seek their participation in the R01. We have established contact and the monasteries have expressed interest in LAMAS.
  3. Visit and establish connections with local laboratory and imaging facilities near each monastery.
  4. Meet in person with our Indian colleagues at the Center for Brain Research in Bangalore who will be Co-Investigators on the submission.”

Teaching Spinal Anesthesia With a Low-Fidelity Simulator and App-Based Self-Assessment Modules at The University Of Minnesota, University Of Botswana, Botswana, and National Hospital/Royal Orthopedic Hospital, Nigeria 

• PI: Vanessa Moll MD, PhD, FCCM, FASA, DESA, Professor and Vice Chair, Quality and Safety, Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Critical Care Medicine | UMN Medical School
• Co-PI: Habila Umaru, MD | Professor, Department of Orthopedics, National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria
• Project Summary: “This project aims to develop a scalable education system to teach safe spinal anesthesia in low-resource settings. We will develop a low-cost, low-fidelity spinal anesthesia simulator using locally available materials. The simulator aims to provide realistic tactile feedback to help healthcare providers, including nurses and generalist physicians, practice spinal anesthesia techniques safely and effectively. The model is accompanied by simulated app-based training sessions and self-assessment modules to evaluate skills and track progress. Expected outcomes include improved competence and confidence in performing spinal anesthesia among trainees, increased accessibility to spinal anesthesia training in resource-limited areas, and validation of the simulator’s effectiveness as a practical educational tool. The project seeks to bridge training gaps where high-fidelity simulators and anesthesiologists are unavailable, ultimately contributing to safer anesthesia practices in low-resource settings.”

Thank you to all our University of Minnesota colleagues who applied this year — we received many strong proposals that demonstrate the importance of global health practice to our University community.