The Mass General Center for Global Health is a central hub of expertise and support for global health initiatives across the Mass General Brigham ecosystem.

Upcoming Events | Funding Opportunities | Fellowships / Employment Opportunities | Awards / Recognition

Global Health Community Highlights | Research | Travel, Safety, and Security | Opportunities to Engage

Upcoming Events

Combining Evidence from Observational Studies and Population Surveys to Better Predict Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Tuesday, June 9th, 2026 | 12:00PM - 12:45PM ET | Virtual on Zoom

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of death worldwide. Although CVD mortality declined substantially over the past five decades, progress in the United States has slowed since 2010. Reviving these gains will require more effective implementation of prevention strategies, including improved methods for identifying individuals at highest risk.

In this presentation, Goodarz Danaei, MD will discuss emerging approaches to cardiovascular risk prediction and prevention, including the use of causal inference methods and nationally representative data to develop more accurate risk models. He will explore the limitations of existing prediction tools, which often rely on outdated cohort studies or nonrepresentative electronic medical record data, and present new research aimed at improving population-level prevention strategies in the United States and globally.

This webinar is free and open to the public and will include time for audience Q&A.

125 Nashua Street MGH Blood Donation Opportunity

Tuesday, June 30th, 2026 | 10:00AM - 2:30PM ET | In-person

Location: Parking lot at 125 Nashua Street

There will be an optional Blood Donation opportunity in the 125 Nashua Street parking lot on Tuesday, June 30^th from 10:00am to 2:30pm. Every blood donation with MGH helps up to 3 patients!

If you are interested, please make an appointment to donate blood at this link.

SAVE THE DATE - MGH Global Health Expo

Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 

10:30AM - 2:00PM ET | In-person

Location: Bulfinch Tent, Mass General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114

Please Save the Date for the MGH Global Health Expo on Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 from 10:30am-2:00pm in the Bulfinch Tent at Massachusetts General Hospital. Hosted annually by the Center for Global Health, the Expo provides an opportunity to learn about global and local health equity initiatives across MGB. Learn more about the Global Health Expo at this link.

The MGB Global Health Service Award Ceremony will also take place at the Expo at 12:15pm. Please learn more about these awards and how to submit nominations for fellow MGB colleagues or global partners at this link.

Funding Opportunities

• Call for Nominations: 2026 MGB Global Health Service Awards – These awards were created to encourage innovation, dedication, and commitment in the field of Global Health; to recognize people whose goal is to inspire, advance, and improve the clinical care and capacity for underserved populations; and to emphasize the importance and benefits of global collaboration in healthcare. All MGB employees and global partners are eligible. $2,000 will be awarded to support global health project related work. Learn more at this link and submit nominations through this form.

• Scholarships for Clinical Education and Training in LMICs Program – The MGH Center for Global Health (CGH) is now accepting proposals for the Scholarships for Clinical and Training in LMICs Program on a rolling basis. CGH is committed to increasing capacity of medical providers to create lasting health impact in underserved global communities. It is within this context that we invite MGH and BWH faculty/clinicians to apply for funds on behalf of partner institution staff -- doctors, nurses, and allied health personnel from LMICs-- to support their health education and skills-building training. Through this mechanism, MGH faculty/clinicians may apply for educational support for a global collaborator in their pursuit of medical education, specialized training, advanced degree, and/or other skills building courses in their home country. CGH will fund awards of up to $15,000/each. See this document for more information and to access the application through this form. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Contact Jodi Ansel with any questions.

• MGB Global Health Community Engagement Awards – The purpose of these awards is to achieve improved health and healthcare equity within the populations we serve; support patient-focused, community-based health projects and/or research that demonstrate a positive impact on patient health outcomes; support humanitarian opportunities; and support requests for specialized assistance from NGOs. All staff, faculty, and partnering collaborators are eligible. Up to $2,000 is available per award and may include support for travel. Learn more and apply at this link.

• MGB Global Health Finish Line Grant – The purpose of this award is to promote the advancement of junior investigators/trainees from MGB Global Health faculty partner sites, who have a project that is near completion and requires funding to bring the project “over the finish line.” Finish Line awards can range from $500-$2,500 per award each year and are awarded on a rolling basis. For more information and to apply view this document. Contact Lindsey Garrison with any questions.

• Identifying external funding opportunities with PIVOT – PIVOT is a library database that indexes funding announcements from government agencies, private foundations and nonprofits, and international sponsors. PIVOT allows users to easily limit results by criteria including citizenship, geographic location, or career stage. PIVOT Funding Alerts provide a weekly, individualized notification of new and updated funding opportunities based on the user’s saved searches. For more information and to create your PIVOT account today, see this document and presentation.

To learn more about our Awards, Fellowships, and Funding Opportunities, please visit our Grants & Funding webpage here.

Fellowships / Employment Opportunities

• Training Program in Psychiatric Genetics and Translational Research (T32) – Led by Karestan Koenen, PhD, JP Onnela, PhD and Alexander Tsai, MD, PhD, brings together faculty from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the MGH Division of Global Psychiatry to train epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and physician and non-physician clinicians with interests in a broad range of inquiry relevant to psychiatric genetics and analytical methods for translational mental health research, including global mental health, social and behavioral science, and psychiatric epidemiology. We offer dedicated mentorship, didactic seminars, formal coursework throughout Harvard-affiliated institutions, and access to a diverse community of cross-disciplinary scholars. Funding is for up to three years and includes salary, MPH tuition, travel to professional meetings, and other training-related expenses. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. If you have any questions, please reach out to Dr. Alexander Tsai.



• Thomas S. Durant Fellowship – 1-year fellowship sponsors healthcare professionals to serve victims of complex humanitarian disasters and provides up to $75,000 for the year. This fellowship fosters in its recipients a sense of commitment to populations in distress and provides opportunities to develop professionalism in humanitarian response. MGH and BWH physicians, APPs, and nurses are eligible to apply. Learn more at this link. If interested, please contact globaldisasterresponse@partners.org.

Awards / Recognition

MGB Global Health Community Engagement Award Recipients

Mary Namukisa, MPH has been awarded a MGH Community Engagement Award in support of her travel to Porto, Portugal. Namukisa recently completed a mixed-methods study titled “Lack of Clarity on ‘Fair’ Compensation in Medical Research Compromises Responsible Practices among Investigators in Uganda.” The study examined participant compensation practices and the factors influencing these practices among medical research investigators and Research Ethics Committee members in Uganda, in the context of national guidelines that do not clearly define what constitutes fair or excessive compensation. She will be presenting her findings at the 18th World Conference in Bioethics, Medical Ethics, and Health Law in Portugal.

Nicholas Roberts, MD is an internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital interested in pursuing a career in global health research focused on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), specifically cardiovascular disease. This $2,000 award will enable his travel to South Africa to support the research activities of the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa (HAALSA) Cohort. The HAALSA Cohort is based out of the Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit in rural northeastern South Africa. Dr. Roberts will assist with implementing HAALSA initiatives while also gaining clinical and fieldwork experience to strengthen his training as a future global health physician scientist.

Global Health Community Highlights

Dr. Joseph Rhatigan Named Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity

After a thorough and thoughtful search process, Joseph J. Rhatigan, MD, has been named Chief of the Division of Global Health Equity (DGHE) for the AMC Department of Medicine at Mass General Brigham, effective May 11, 2026.

In this role, Dr. Rhatigan will lead the Division’s strategy and vision, research administration, education and training, community health, and personnel management. Under the general direction of the Chair, he will be responsible for setting and implementing goals and objectives across all the Division’s mission areas, and facilitating opportunities for program development, faculty recruitment, retention and academic promotion, and resource allocation. He will work with other Division Chiefs to foster inter-divisional and/or multi-site programs that benefit its internal and external stakeholders and will partner with Division administrative staff to execute its strategic priorities. In addition, the Division will work collaboratively with other major global health programs including the MGH Center for Global Health, the Harvard Medical School (HMS) Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, and the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Dr. Rhatigan has been an active member of the DGHE for over 20 years. Since 2006, he has served as Director of the Hiatt Global Health Equity residency track within the BWH Internal Medicine Residency Program, and he co-founded and has co-directed the Harvard Summer Intensive Program in Global Health Delivery for the past 16 years. He served as Associate Chief of the DGHE under Dr. Paul Farmer from 2012–2022, helping to oversee Division finances, faculty affairs, and external partnerships. Dr. Rhatigan was appointed Interim Chief of the Division in 2022 and became permanent Chief in 2023. He is an Associate Physician in the AMC Division of Global Health Equity and an Associate Professor of Medicine at HMS, with secondary appointments in the HMS Department of Global Health and Social Medicine and the HSPH Department of Global Health and Population. In 2024, he was named the Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, Endowed Chair in Global Health Equity at BWH – a fitting and poignant honor, given their many years collaborating as friends, colleagues, and partners.

Impact-forward From Awareness to Action: MGH S&S–LIHS GBV Webinar Series Reaches Practitioners Across Nine Countries

The MGH Strength and Serenity Initiative to End Gender Based Violence (S&S) and Luziibangi International Health School, Uganda (LIHS) collaborated on a GBV Training Webinar Series. The capacity building program completed its inaugural four-session run between September 2025 and April 2026, drawing about 200 professionals from more than nine countries across Sub-Saharan Africa and North America.

The series delivered progressively deepening content from foundational concepts in GBV as a global health issue (Webinar 1) through sexual and reproductive health contextualization (Webinar 2), survivor-centered clinical skills and the WHO LIVES framework (Webinar 3), and multi-sectoral coordination in Uganda's refugee settings (Webinar 4). The Post-webinar survey data reflect consistently high satisfaction: 94% of respondents across the series would recommend the training to colleagues, the average quality rating was 4.6 out of 5, and 100% of Webinar participants identified at least one new cross-sector partner for GBV response. The value of the series was captured simply and directly by one participant: "Thank you for the reading materials and the good work you are doing in teaching and training about GBV. They will be very helpful." Participants were predominantly experienced practitioners, who had six or more years of professional experience and were frontline healthcare providers, underscoring the series' reach into communities where GBV response capacity matters most.

Learn more about the Global Initiatives Against Gender-Based Violence here or contact Temitayo Abayomi, PhD, MPH at tabayomi@mgh.harvard.edu.

Natalie Sinjaradze, MS Begins Fulbright Fellowship in the Netherlands

In July, CGH Clinical Research Coordinator II, Natalie Sinjaradze, MS, will be finishing her year at the MGH Center for Global Health to start a Fulbright Fellowship in the Netherlands. Natalie has been working with Dr. Amir Mohareb on research related to migration health and infectious diseases this year. We are excited to see her take next steps in her career in global health.

Resource Highlight: Understanding Urban Health Across Africa

Africa is home to many of the world's fastest-growing cities. In the book, Urban Health in Africa, editors Elaine O. Nsoesie and Blessing U. Mberu bring together a diverse group of thirty-eight scholars to explore the critical impacts of rapid urbanization on the health and prosperity of Africans. Through compelling case studies, contributors highlight the unique challenges and innovative solutions in Africa's urban health. Essays cover a diverse range of topics—from housing to climate change—in various cities across Africa. Considerations for urban health are vital to the continent's potential to prosper as it grows in population, and this book addresses critical issues related to infrastructure, transportation, natural disasters, and conflict. Covering a broad selection of topics and focusing on specific cities throughout Africa, this book examines everything from education and economic development to pollution and the role of data in urban health and development.

From the resilience and creativity of slum communities to groundbreaking policies addressing air pollution and mental health, each chapter provides valuable insights into the continent's urban health landscape. Urban Health in Africa is an essential read for policymakers, researchers, and anyone interested in shaping a healthier future for Africa's cities and understanding the vibrant and complex realities of its urban life.

Global Health Community Meeting

The Center for Global Health holds bimonthly Global Health Community Meetings on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 9:00AM ET. These hybrid meetings are aimed at keeping individuals informed of the work going on within our center's programs as well as providing an opportunity to hear about global health work going on across Mass General.

If you would like to join these meetings, please reach out to cghadmin@mgh.harvard.edu.

Research

Publication Highlight: “Menstruation is NOT Taboo”: A Two-Phase Study on Menstrual Hygiene Management and Educational Advancement in Cameroon Amongst School Age Girls

A new manuscript from the MGH Strength & Serenity team, titled “Menstruation is NOT Taboo”: A Two-Phase Study on Menstrual Hygiene Management and Educational Advancement in Cameroon Amongst School Age Girls, was recently published as a preprint with The Lancet and is currently under peer review. The study evaluates a school-based menstrual hygiene management intervention in Eastern Cameroon that combines reusable menstrual hygiene kits, WASH infrastructure improvements, and Menstrual Hygiene Clubs.

The intervention reached 3,843 schoolgirls and was associated with reduced menstruation-related absenteeism, improved menstrual health awareness, reduced stigma, and stronger academic outcomes. This work emerged from a collaborative effort between Dr. Jessica Haberer, Dr. Annekathryn Goodman, and Dr. Marcella Cardoso, together with Dr. Yap Boum II and partners in Cameroon, and is the first manuscript in a broader sequence of ongoing work on menstrual health, education, and gender equity.

Learn more about the publication here.

NIH Guidance Update on International Collaborations under the New PF5 Structure

NIH program officers recently shared recent policy and structural changes relevant to international research collaborations, including the new PF5 framework, foreign subproject requirements, funding pathways, and updated expectations around foreign justifications and research security. The resource is intended to help investigators and collaborators better navigate evolving NIH policies for global partnerships and future grant applications. Check out the guidance slides here to learn more.

Biostatistical Support

The Center for Global Health works with a PhD level statistician, who can offer biostatistical support as needed. Please contact Jessica Haberer, MD, MS with details about your biostatistical needs.

Recent Publications

Here is a selection of our Global Health Community's recent publications. To share your published work in the next newsletter, please email cghadmin@mgh.harvard.edu.



• Knoble, A., J. Pathak, R. Bhandari, J. Ssempiira, K. Shah, P. Paudel, et al. “The Effect of Deploying Non-Physician Anaesthesia Providers on Surgical Access and Capacity across Nepal’s Primary and Secondary Government Hospitals: A Quasi-Experimental Mixed Methods Study.” BMJ Global Health 11, no. 3 (2026): e020332.

• Rao, S., U. Gupta, A. Ramanujam, A. Knoble, I. Gondi, P. Gowda, et al. “Capacity Building through Workforce Training and Community Engagement for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia (SOTA) Care: Case Studies from South Asia.” Dialogues in Health 8 (June 1, 2026): 100295.

• Bondarchuk, Connor P., Tiffany Lemon, Elzette Rousseau, Siyaxolisa Sindelo, Andrew Medina-Marino, Nkosiyapha Sibanda, Lisa M. Butler, Linda-Gail Bekker, Valerie A. Earnshaw, and Ingrid T. Katz. "The patient-provider relationship mediates the relationship between health literacy and resilience in young South Africans newly diagnosed with HIV." Journal of Health Psychology 31, no. 4 (2026): 1530-1546.

• Olds, Peter K., Stephen Asiimwe, Annet Kembabazi, Andrew Ainomugisha, Jodi Ansel, Joseph Ngonzi, Grace Nambozi et al. "First Mile program: North-South partnership experience with health system strengthening in Mbarara, Uganda." Global Health Action 19, no. 1 (2026): 2607907.

• Godfrey, Mugyenyi R., Fredrick Atwiine, Esther C. Atukunda, Leo Anthony Celi, Rogers Mwavu, Fred Kaggwa, Jessica E. Haberer, and William Wasswa. "Application of AI to Ultrasonographic Images to Aid the Clinical Care of Pregnant Women With Pre-eclampsia in Uganda: A Protocol for a Pilot Study." Cureus 18, no. 1 (2026).

• Reid, Michael JA, and Ingrid T. Katz. "Redefining global health in the 21st century: Towards a more equitable global health agenda." Global public health 20, no. 1 (2025): 2464060.

Travel, Safety, and Security Updates

URGENT: New MGB Travel Prohibition & Guidance - Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak > Part A: Travel Prohibition for Uganda, DRC, South Sudan

Effective dates: May 21, 2026 - June 21, 2026

Summary: Because of safety/security concerns and various uninsured risks and potential significant effect our health system, MGB hereby informs its employees and others to cease, effective 05/21/2026, from being within, and/or traveling to the following countries and jurisdictions for purposes of MGB business and/or employment: Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan.

URGENT: New MGB Travel Prohibition & Guidance - Ebola Virus Disease Outbreak > Part B: Travel GUIDANCE for Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania; Other regional countries as outbreak conditions warrant

Summary: Travel to Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and other regional countries should be carefully planned with travelers preparing for possible implementation of public health measures and disruption to travel until the current situation stabilizes and becomes more clear.

Warning on transit: Travelers to the region should also carefully consider their air itinerary and routing by avoiding transit through Entebbe Airport in Uganda (EBB) as this will trigger rerouting to Washington Dulles (IAD) per HHS/CDC regulation and will trigger ​​MGB HCID Policy​​. 

Please see visit ​​TravelSafe​​ for the full guidance and additional information.

Travel Alert: Middle East > Part A: Travel Prohibition for Israel, Gaza, West Bank, and Lebanon

March 20, 2026 - IMPORTANT TRAVEL ALERT 

Current as of March 2026: MGB continues to ban travel to Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Yemen.

Because of safety/security concerns and due to war-related exclusions within certain insurance policies covering MGB, MGB hereby informs all individuals, including employees, to cease, effective 11/1/2023, from being within, and/or traveling to, the following countries and jurisdictions for purposes of MGB business and/or employment: Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.

A similar travel prohibition for Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, and Belarus also remains in effect.

Travel Alert: Middle East > Part B: Travel Guidance for Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait

March 18, 2026 - IMPORTANT TRAVEL ALERT UPDATE

Summary:  Middle East Travel: URGENT:   ALL BUSINESS TRAVEL PROHIBITED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES: KUWAIT, SAUDI ARABIA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, QATAR, BAHRAIN, OMAN, JORDAN.

STANDING POLICY TRAVEL PROHIBITIONS ALREADY EXIST FOR YEMEN, IRAQ, IRAN, ISRAEL, LEBANON, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES, SYRIA.

Summary: Military action and repeated air and missile strikes have struck Iran and reciprocal strikes are hitting all of the Arabian Peninsula countries. 

Employees are being directed not to travel or transit the area including major hubs of Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, etc. until further notice. 

Please confer with MGB Risk and Insurance Services (Ryan Wildes) for updates (travelsafe@mgb.org; rwildes@mgb.org; 857-282-0951)

Please see the MGB TravelSafe Vitals page for further updates here.

U.S. mandates more foreign travelers to pay up to $15,000 visa bond deposits

Foreign travelers from seven additional countries are now required to pay between $5,000 and $15,000 for a reimbursable bond when applying for a U.S. visitor visa.

As of Jan. 1, Bhutan, Botswana, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia and Turkmenistan are required to pay the assurances as part of a State Department pilot program launched in August. Thirteen countries are now affected by the program, most of them in Africa.

The bond deposits — which the department has said are aimed at deterring visitors from staying in the United States longer than they are allowed for business or tourism — range between $5,000 and $15,000, and do not guarantee that a visa will be issued. The payment will be refunded if visitors depart the U.S. within the time specified on their visas, according to the policy.

Applicants whose visas are approved can only enter the U.S. from three designated airports: Boston Logan International Airport, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport, the State Department notice said. The program is not applicable to those on student visas. Learn more at this link.

Opportunities to Engage

• The MGH Global Health Expo is hosted annually by the Center for Global Health. The Expo provides an opportunity to engage with the MGH and BWH communities and to learn about global and local health equity initiatives across MGB. For last year's expo summary, view this document. If you would like to host a table at the next Expo in September 2026, please email cghadmin@mgh.harvard.edu.

• The MGBGlobalEd Collaborative is a diverse network of educators across departments, centers, and institutes at MGB who are involved in global education, healthcare delivery, clinical mentorship, and innovation. The aims of the collaborative are to build a sense of community among global health educators and clinical innovators, to create a space where experts can learn from one another and share best practices, as well as to advance interdisciplinary education efforts in the pursuit of global health equity. Membership is based on self-identification and is currently open to MGH and BWH Faculty only. Learn more at this link.

• The Center for Global Health has developed a clinical academic partnership with the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE), a global university based in rural northern Rwanda, founded by Partners in Health. Amongst other programs, the university is training medical students as part of a MBBS program and is looking for visiting faculty on their clinical clerkships. Learn more at this link. If you are interest in teaching as Visiting Faculty, please email cghadmin@mgh.harvard.edu.

• Interested in joining the Global Health Faculty Associate and Affiliate Network? If you are an MGH-MGPO faculty or fellow in good standing and engaged in substantive global health activities as part of your career, we hope you will consider joining the network by becoming an Associate in Global Health. If you are external to MGH and are an active collaborator with CGH, we hope you will consider joining the Affiliate network. Learn more and apply at this link.



• We are building a Global Health Library in our office. Feel free to stop by, check out a book and please add books to the list here. Some suggested topics to get you thinking include: diversity, equity and inclusion, global health, leadership and decolonizing global health. We are excited to see your picks!

• For additional Mass General global health opportunities and ways to get involved, please visit our CGH webpage at this link.

Please stay in touch!



All past issues of the monthly Global Health Community newsletter are available on the Center for Global Health website at this link.

If you would like to include a news item, opportunity or other update in a future monthly newsletter, please email us at cghadmin@mgh.harvard.edu. Learn more about the submision process here.