Message from the Faculty Director | | From classroom to Kenya: Center for Global Health grant expands MPH student’s perspective | | Jeffrey Korte, Ph.D., (right), stands next to Enouce Ndeche, leader of the Volunteer Africa Program in Kenya in 2018. Dr. Korte is leading a trip to the country with a pair of MUSC students this month. Submitted photo | | |
By Adam Wise
When Jeffrey Korte, Ph.D., first traveled to Nairobi more than a decade ago, he had no idea that a workshop would mark the beginning of a long-term friendship – and a partnership that would eventually create international opportunities for MUSC students.
This month, Korte, an epidemiologist and researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina, returned to Kenya with two MUSC Master of Public Health (MPH) students, Taylor Simon and Katie Mullins, for a two-week research project with the Volunteer Africa Program (VAP).
The project is a continuation of work originally established by Korte through a Center for Global Health (CGH) Faculty Pilot Research Grant. The trip for the students, which is supported by the CGH through its Student and Trainee Global Health Travel Grant program, will explore mental health, social support and HIV knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among people reached through VAP’s local community programs.
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Center for Global Health opens Student and Trainee Travel Grant Application Cycle
The Center for Global Health is pleased to announce travel grant application cycle dates for students and trainees.
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Deadline to Apply: Oct. 9, 2026, at 5 p.m.
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Earliest Notice of Award: Nov. 6, 2026
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Center for Global Health Faculty Mentor Travel Grant Application Cycle Opening Soon
The MUSC Center for Global Health offers international travel grants of up to $2,000 each to MUSC faculty leading groups of MUSC students to low- and middle-income countries for education, research, or service-learning programs. Funds must be used within 12 months from the date of the award. The goal of the awards is to assist recipients in providing mentorship to students in furthering global health research or training projects in low- and middle-income countries.
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Application Cycle Opens: Oct. 1, 2026
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Deadline to Apply: Oct. 30, 2026, at 5 p.m.
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Earliest Notice of Award: Nov. 6, 2026
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Department of Medicine to Host Speaker from University of Minnesota
Students and faculty are invited to attend the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds featuring the esteemed Brett Hendel Paterson, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.
Join us Thursday, Sept. 10, from 8:00–9:00 a.m.in BE 110, as Dr. Hendel Paterson, a distinguished med/peds and palliative care trained hospitalist, shares his invaluable insights. His presentation, "Making the Case for Global Medicine: 21 years of Experience at the University of Minnesota," promises to be a remarkable opportunity for us to learn from a national leader in the field.
As the Global Medicine Program Director and the Internal Medicine Residency Associate Program Director at the University of Minnesota, he brings more than two decades of expertise in global health, the care of immigrants and refugees, and medical education. We encourage you to attend this event. Your presence will not only enrich the discussion but also contribute to our mission of cultivating future healthcare leaders. We look forward to seeing you there!
| | | | Student & Trainee Travel Grant Reflections | | |
As they become available, this newsletter will feature past published reflections from MUSC students and trainees following their global health projects supported by Center for Global Health travel grants.
For more information about CGH student and trainee travel grants, please click here.
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Claudia Satzke - Ethiopia
I am so grateful for my past month in Soddo, Ethiopia. I had the opportunity to complete a 4-week rotation at Soddo Christian Hospital with mentors Drs. Nate and Cheryl Ross. During my time, I rotated through the orthopedic surgery, general surgery, pediatric, and OB/GYN services.
Each morning, we would round with our respective team. The residents would report on any overnight changes and updates on the patients.
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Michaela Close, M.D. -
El Salvador
My experience in San Salvador, El Salvador with the Global Smile Foundation was a formative and deeply rewarding experience that significantly contributed to my surgical training. As part of a multidisciplinary team, we evaluated 74 patients with cleft and other craniofacial anomalies and performed 38 surgical procedures for 25 patients over the course of one week.
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Newsletter Submissions
Do you have a MUSC global health news item to share that you'd like included in a future edition of this newsletter? Please email your submissions to global-health@musc.edu.
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