Doris Duke Foundation Awards Grant to Continue Research Fellowships in Global Health

UCSF is one of six medical schools that will receive a total of $5.2 million in grant funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) to offer clinical research fellowships in global health over the next four years.

The University, which has been participating in the program since 2001, offers medical students the opportunity to take one year off to conduct clinical research in a developing country. DDCF’s International Clinical Research Fellowships program includes didactic training as well as mentorship from a global health researcher.

The grants will allow UCSF to offer three fellowships per year for four years beginning in the summer of 2013.

Joel Palefsky, MD

Joel Palefsky, MD, a UCSF professor of medicine and director of the Clinical and Translational Research Fellowship Program managed by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), says the grant “reflects the strong commitment to training in global health research by both UCSF and the DDCF.”

In addition to UCSF, the foundation awarded grant funding to Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Global Health Institute, Harvard Medical School, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and Yale University School of Medicine.

“We look forward to working with these institutions to give medical students the unique opportunity to participate in an outstanding clinical research project in a low or middle-income country,” said Betsy Myers, DDCF’s program director for medical research. “Our hope is that this experience will motivate students to become the next generation of doctors conducting research in global health.”

The application process for the 2013-2014 fellowship year begins in November. Click here for more information.