Global Engagement Grants

2025 Global Engagement Grants 

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

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

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

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 

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

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

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

Building environmental surveillance capacity and assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) for leptospirosis among paddy field workers  

• PI: Ammar Yasir DVM, MPhil, PhD Student, Division of Environmental Health Sciences | UMN School of Public Health
• Co-PI: Waqas Ahmad, DVM, MPhil, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences | University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Narowal Campus, Pakistan

Enhancing Local Capacity for Nursing Informatics in Africa: An Approach to Data-Driven Health Infrastructure 

• PI: Aidah Nanvuma, BNS, MPH, Graduate Student | UMN School of Public Health
• Co-PI: Rebecca Wurtz, MD, MPH, Program Director, Division of Health Policy and Management | UMN School of Public Health

See more details about the 2025 projects here

2024 Global Engagement Grants 

Ecuador: Social, Environmental and Cultural Determinants of Health 

• Program Leader: Laura Dammer Hess, MLS | Director, UMN Center for Health Interprofessional Programs 

Resilience In Adversity: A Study Of Risk And Protective Factors Affecting The Mental Health And Academic Motivation Of Children And Youth In Informal Settlements In Panama

• PI: Ana Mireya Díaz, MA, MS | PhD student in the Department of Family Social Science / MSW student in the School of Social Work, UMN College of Education and Human Development
• Co-I: Diana Xie, PhDc | Urban Geography at the Autonomous University of Barcelona

Capacity Building in Occupational Safety and Health in Vietnam

• PI: Trân B. Huỳnh, MPH, PhD, CIH | Associate Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, UMN School of Public Health
• Co-I: Hien T.T. Ngo, MSc, PhD | Faculty member in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Thang Long University, Hanoi, Vietnam;  Assistant Secretary of the Workplace Health Without Borders – US Branch

A Multimethod Study to Refine Family Nurse Practitioner Curriculum and Scope of Practice for the Advanced Practice Nursing Role Within the Primary Health Care System and Context of Liberia, West Africa

• PI: Dorcas Kunkel DNP, RN/PHN, CNE, CPHIMS | Clinical Associate Professor, Global Health Faculty Scholar 2023-24, UMN School of Nursing
• Co-I: Cecelia Kpangbala Flomo MPH, MPH-ICHD, RN, BSN, FWAPCNM, PHF | Registrar/Executive Secretary, Liberian Board for Nursing and Midwifery, Republic of Liberia, West Africa

Anishinaabemowin: A Global Indigenous Pharmacist Sharing Circle

• PI: Laura Palombi, PharmD, MPH, MAT | Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences, UMN College of Pharmacy
• Co-I: Faye McMillan AM, DHlthSc, MIndH, MSCL, GCWiradjuriLCH, GCIndG, GCE | Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner for First Nations and Allied Health; Professor of Indigenous Health at the University of Technology Sydney; Registered Pharmacist (Community)

Research Mentorship Program for Rwandan Junior Faculty Surgeons

• PI: Jennifer Rickard, MD, MPH | Associate Professor of Surgery, UMN Medical School
• PI: Christophe Mpirimbanyi | Surgeon, Kibagabaga Hospital, Kigali, Rwanda

Climate Change and Malaria Symposium

• PI: Kelly M. Searle, ScM PhD | Assistant Professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, UMN School of Public Health
• Co-I: Baltazar Candrinho, MD | Director of the National Malaria Control Program in Mozambique; Chair of the Initiative of Malaria Elimination in Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland (MOSASWA)

See more details about the 2024 projects here

Open Call Global Engagement Grant Recipients

Vaginal/neovaginal microbiome alterations, gender affirmation therapy and implications for sexually transmitted infections in Thai transgender women

• PI: M. Kumi Smith, PhD, MPIA, UMN School of Public Health
• Co-PI: Amaraporn Rerkasem, MD, Chiang Mai University Research Institute for Health Sciences

Assessment of sound waves from liver vessels via artificial intelligence to detect liver cancer in resource-limited settings

• PI: Jose Debes, MD, PhD, MS, UMN Medical School
• Co-PI: Ju Sun, PhD, UMN College of Science and Engineering

Creation of the First Point-of-Care Ultrasound Fellowship in Ecuador

• PI: Andrea Dreyfuss, MD, MPH, UMN Medical School & Ultrasound Fellowship Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Hennepin Hospital 

A One health initiative to combat rodent infestation threats to public health and well-being of vulnerable communities in Latin America

• PI: Claudia Muñoz-Zanzi, DVM, PhD, UMN School of Public Health
• Co-PI: Piedad Agudelo Florez, Universidad CES, Medellín

Evaluating adaptation, acceptability, and sustainability of an online, trauma treatment certificate program for building the capacity of Malaysian professionals working with refugees.

• PI: Patricia Shannon, PhD, LP, UMN School of Social Work, College of Education and Human Development
• Co-PI: Chris Mehus, Ph.D., LMFT, UMN College of Education and Human Development

Ghana Telehealth Outreach and Technical Assistance Program (GHTOTAP): A pilot project

• PI: Jessica Simacek, PhD, UMN Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, College of Education and Human Development
• Co-PI: Emmanuel Bonney, MPhil, PhD, UMN College of Education and Human Development
• Project Team: Jed Elison, PhD, UMN College of Education and Human Development; Anita Randolph, PhD, UMN Medical School

An enhanced education program improves postnatal maternal knowledge of neonatal jaundice in Jinja, Uganda

• PI: Jameel Winter, MD, UMN Medical School
• Co-PI: Businge Alinaitwe, BSN, Sanyu Africa Research Institute, Mbale Regional Referral Hospital

NRC-RIM Community Engagement Grants

Afghan Healthcare Navigation

• Organization: Afghan Cultural Society
• Project Lead: Atefa Tavasoli, Fellow of Neurosurgery, UMN Medical School
• Project Manager: Amina Baha, Operations Director & Founder, Afghan Cultural Society
• Partners: UMN School of Social Work; Advocates for Human Rights; Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC) Clinic

Open Call Global Engagement Grant Recipients

Social and Ecological Impact of Waste Management

• PI: Nida Sajid, PhD, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, College of Liberal Arts
• Co-PI: Rishikesh Narayan, PhD, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Goa
• Project Team: Sudhir Krishna, PhD, MBBS, IIT Goa; Sabiha Hashami, PhD, Indian Institute of IIT Goa; Sarah Binte Ali, PhD, IIT Goa

Maximizing collaborative roles for allopathic, traditional and faith healers for treating women with breast cancer

• PI: Beth Virnig, PhD, MPH, UMN School of Public Health
• Project Team: Shalini Kulasingam, PhD, UMN School of Public Health; Adwoa Bemah Boamah Mensah, Ph.D., MPhil, FGCNM, FWACON, RN, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; John Amuasi, MBChB. MS. MPH. PhD., Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Capacity building - Vitreoretinal surgery in Uganda

• PI: Dara Koozekanani, MD, PhD, UMN Medical School
• Co-PI: Erik van Kuijk, MD, PhD, UMN Medical School

Global Women’s Health Engagement Grant Recipients

Determining Efficacy of a Maternal and Neonatal Simulation and Debriefing Intervention to Improve Clinical Competence of Diverse Students at the University of Nairobi

• PI: Cynthia Sherraden Bradley, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, UMN School of Nursing
• Project Team: Miriam C. A. Wagoro, RN, PhD, University of Nairobi; Blasio Omuga, MBCHB, MMED, University of Nairobi; Joyce Jebet, RCHN, BScN, MSc, PhD, University of Nairobi; Lilian Omondi, BScN, MScN, PhD, University of Nairobi

Use of simulation for global medical education in obstetrics and cesarean delivery in a resource-limited rural setting: a partnership between University of Global Health Equity School of Medicine, Rwanda and University of Minnesota

• PI: Rebecca Petersen, MD, UMN Medical School 
• Project Team: Rahel Ghebre, MD, MPH, UMN Medical School; Abebe Bekele, MD, University of Global Health Equity, Rwanda