Quarterly Newsletter | Fall 2025

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Michelle Moghadassi and Mike Reid give a preview of their storytelling at IGHS Day

Balancing Acts: A Night of Storytelling with the Nocturnists  

Wed., Nov. 12, 2025 | UCSF Mission Bay, San Francisco 



As part of the 25th anniversary celebration, we’ve partnered with The Nocturnists for a live storytelling event, where five members of the IGHS community will share personal stories about moments of challenge, connection, and reflection.  

• Storytelling from 4 to 5 p.m.  
• Reception, light refreshments, and live music from 5 to 6 p.m. 

W. Kamau Bell, Mamphela Ramphele, Sue Desmond-Hellman and Monica Gandhi

Charting the Future of Global Health

Thurs., Nov. 13, 2025

Our 25th anniversary event features thought leaders from 80+ countries, deans from all four UCSF schools, special guest W. Kamau Bell, and luminary keynote speakers Mamphela Ramphele and Sue Desmond-Hellmann. It promises to be great. See full agenda >

This event has reached capacity for in-person attendance. The Zoom link will be available on the 25th anniversary webpage on Nov. 13.

Marin / Sonoma Mosquito Vector Control table at the Center for Malaria and Vector-Borne Diseases launch

As malaria and vector-borne diseases are on the rise, the launch of the new Center brought together more than 120 researchers, trainees, public health leaders, and private sector innovators. Housed in IGHS, the Center will tackle some of the world’s most enduring diseases and act as a hub of innovation and collaboration. The Center is led by Michelle Hsiang, MD, MS, Allison Tatarsky, MPH, Phil Rosenthal, MD, and Isabel Rodriguez-Barraquer, MD, PhD. 



Read more about the Launch >

Mamphela Ramphele

Mamphela Ramphele Joins as Scholar in Residence 

In August, IGHS welcomed Scholar in Residence Mamphela Ramphele, MBChB, PhD, to join IGHS and the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences for a Distinguished Visiting Professorship. Ramphele is a renowned South African anti-apartheid activist, political leader, physician, and academic.   

Ramphele will spend the next year at IGHS working on research for a book that seeks to understand the persistent legacy of intergenerational trauma in South Africa, across the African continent, and the world. 


Learn more about Ramphele >

Healthcare providers at a CPIPE training

Caring for Providers to Improve Patient Experience Achieves New Milestone  

Led by Patience Afulani, PhD, MD, MPH, the CPIPE team trained approximately 100 nurses and midwives and nurses from 10 health facilities in Ghana and Kenya in October. The curriculum covers person-centered maternity care, stress and burnout, implicit and explicit bias, and more. This brings the total number of healthcare providers participating in the intervention to about 390, from 36 facilities in the Upper East and North East regions in Ghana and Migori and Homabay counties in Kenya.  


Read more about CPIPE >

HHRI Director Triveni DeFries and HHRI Program Manager Cecilia Lipp at the symposium

UCSF Health & Human Rights Initiative Hosts Symposium: Everyone Belongs Here 

The UCSF Health & Human Rights Initiative hosted a symposium as part of the UCSF-UC Law SF Consortium Health Justice Series on September 19. The full-day symposium brought together 200 attendees from healthcare, non-profit, legal, and community-based organizations to prepare participants to advocate for immigrant patients and clients, strengthen partnerships between healthcare clinicians, legal experts, and the community. 


Learn more about HHRI >

Tyler Law uses a pulse oximeter on a patient.

The Uganda Hypoxia lab is co-led by Ugandan clinicians and researchers in partnership with CHESA, UCSF Hypoxia Lab, the Association of Anesthesiologists of Uganda, LifeBox, and faculty from Makerere and Busitema Universities

Greater Equity in Medical Device Testing 

Pulse oximeters, which are developed and validated in high-income countries on light-skinned populations, underperform for people with darker skin tones. The Uganda Hypoxia Lab is the first independent medical device research and testing facility in East Africa, and the only lab globally conducting hypoxia testing within a low- or middle-income country. The Uganda Hypoxia Lab marks a step toward more equitable and effective healthcare innovation. To further this work, the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) Lifebox Anesthesia Safety Fellowship was awarded to CHESA Fellow Emmanuel Aporu, MD, to support the lab launch, oximeter testing, and global research collaborations. 


Read more about CHESA's pulse oximetry work >

Now Open: Applications for Masters in Global Health Sciences 

The Masters degree offers hands-on experience through independent capstone projects tailored to students’ interests and in partnership with academic institutions, Ministries of Health, or NGOs in the U.S. or around the globe. Choose from a one-year full-time or two-year part-time track. The deadline to apply is June 15, 2026.  

New Events Through IGHS Connect

To connect our broader community, we recently rolled out IGHS Connect, a recurring series featuring four monthly events aligned around a shared monthly theme. November's theme is Climate and Envionmental Health.

Building a Career in Global Health 

Nov. 7 and 8, 2025 | UCSF Mission Bay, San Francisco 

Whether you're just beginning your career in global health or seeking new ways to integrate global health into your clinical practice, this two-day CME conference will provide tools, connections, and practical insights you need.  

Career in Global Health Community Gathering 

Nov. 7, 2025 | UCSF Mission Bay, San Francisco 

IGHS will be hosting an IGHS Affiliate table with some swag, appetizers, and refreshments in the lobby. Open to all UCSF staff, faculty, and students.


Learn more about the gathering >

CGN's 2026 Certificate in Global Nursing Program 

2026 course dates: Jan. 13 to March 31, 2026 | All courses will be held online from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. PST/4 p.m. to 6 p.m. CEST. 



Over the course of 12 virtual sessions, the CGN Certificate in Global Nursing Program provides participants with an in-depth understanding of foundational concepts in global health sciences, including global nursing practice, health systems, cultural humility, and equitable partnerships. 

Gopalakrishnan and Diamond-Smith working in India

UCSF Researchers Garner Gates Foundation Award

Nadia Diamond-Smith, PhD, MS, and Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, PhD, are co-PIs on a new Gates Foundation award. The study addresses Heavy Menstrual Bleeding (HMB), an overlooked contributor to anemia affecting up to 78% of women in some low-income settings.

Susanne Marin Herz

UCSF to Lead U.S. Enrollment for WHO Child Development Study

UCSF has been selected to lead U.S. enrollment for the World Health Organization's Global Scales of Early Development Norms and Standards study, an 11-country initiative assessing a new tool for measuring development in children ages three and under. Led by Susanne Martin Herz, MD, PhD, the study is actively enrolling children ages 0-3 years. This research is expected to inform clinical management of early childhood development globally.

Learn more about the study, or email GSED@ucsf.edu.

Triveni DeFries

Health & Human Rights Initiative's Triveni DeFries Selected for Leadership Program

Executive Director of the UCSF Health & Human Rights Initiative Triveni DeFries, MD, MPH, was selected to join Cohort 25 of the California Health Care Foundation's Health Care Leadership Program. 

Read more about the Fellows selected >

View video about Hinchcliffe >

Graham Hinchcliffe, MS Alum, Receives UCSF Chancellor Award

Graham Hinchcliffe, MS, won the Chancellor Award for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Leadership. Hinchcliffe is an academic specialist coordinating clinical research programs in HIV prevention and treatment. He also created the Pride Pin Pledge. The pledge offers an opportunity for people at UCSF to access training, events, and resources to build an inclusive community at UCSF.

Affiliate Awards

• IGHS Affiliate Patience Afulani, PhD, MD, MPH, was honored as a 2025 Emerging Professional Award inductee into the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Hall of Fame.
• IGHS Affiliate Grant Dorsey, MD, MPH, PhD, was awarded $5 million over five years through an NIH U01 grant titled “Cluster Randomized Trial of Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in School-Age Children to Improve the Health of Students and Decrease Community Transmission

Accessibility and acceptability of San Francisco’s Pregnancy Village model: a mixed-methods evaluation, Osamuedeme J. Odiase, Alison M. El Ayadi, Malini A. Nijagal, April J. Bell, Kattia Suarez Vargas, Prisca C. Diala, Emma Kang, Chinomnso N. Okorie, Julia Viega, Ntemena Kapula, Garrett Jacobs, KaSelah Crockett & Patience A. Afulani 

Association between person-centered care during pregnancy and perinatal depression in Ghana, Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, Raymond A. Aborigo, Christopher A. Ayuure & Patience A. Afulani 

Development of the Preparation for Community-Based Labor and Birth Instrument Centering Black Perspectives in the United States—A Participatory Adaptation, Ashley Mitchell MPH, CPE, Nikia Grayson CNM, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, FNP-C, Patience A. Afulani PhD, MBChB, MPH, Kimberly Baltzell RN, PhD, MS, Carrie Neerland CNM, PhD, APRN, Alden Hooper Blair PhD, MS, Alexis Dunn Amore CNM, PhD 

Discontinuation of Long-acting Injectable Cabotegravir–Rilpivirine in a Large Clinic Cohort, Katerina A Christopoulos, Xavier Erguera, Janet Grochowski, Matthew Hickey, Elizabeth Imbert, Samantha Dilworth, Ayesha Appa, Chesa Cox, Mary Shiels, Jon Oskarsson, Monica Gandhi

Emergency preparedness and health system resilience assessment tool: development and initial validation, Fadi El-Jardali, Priyanka D Kanth, Son-Nam Nguyen, Sherin Varkey, Denizhan Duran, Rekha Menon, Racha Fadlallah, Ammar Malek, Vageesh Jain, Majd Saleh, Laura Buback, Michael Reid 

Evaluation of a novel virtual reality training intervention to address implicit bias among healthcare workers, using an implementation science framework, Madelyn Olmos-Rodriguez, Lynhea M. Anicete, Nova Wilson,

Luis Gutierrez-Mock, Jeremy N. Bailenson, Ali Mirzazadeh, Orlando O. Harris, Madhavi Dandu, Suzanne Welty, Alicia Fernandez, Elizabeth M. Rojo, Savanna Harris, Kelly D. Taylor, Michael J. A. Reid 

Food insufficiency among transgender adults in the U.S. during the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (2021–2023), Veronique Whittaker 

Response to “Critical Appraisal on ‘Person-Centered Perinatal Health Care and Empowerment During Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum: A Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Analysis’”, Rebecca Woofter PhD, MPH, Renee Clarke DrPH, MPH, RN, Prisca C. Diala MD, Molly R. Altman CNM, PhD, MPH, Patience A. Afulani PhD, MBChB, MPH 



Using the WHO building blocks to examine cross-border public health surveillance in MENA, Laura Buback, Shayanne Martin, Esbeydy Pardo, Farah Massoud, Jesus Formigo, Atousa Bonyani, Noha H Farag, Zayid K Almayahi, Kenta Ishii, Susie Welty, Dana Schneider