University of Washington Department of Global Health
Encyclopedia
The University of Washington Department of Global Health is a department jointly run by the schools of Medicine
and Public Health at the University of Washington
in Seattle, Washington
. Its aim is to provide a multidisciplinary venue to address issues of global health
at the university.
The department was begun with funding supplied by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The pioneering work of UW researchers in sexually transmitted diseases in the 1970s and 1980s paved the way for the University's leading role in HIV/AID research and training, and, now, global health.
The Department is housed in both the School of Medicine and School of Public Health and has formed linkages across campus and throughout the world to help address not only infectious diseases but a host of pressing global health issues, including health metrics and evaluation; the health of women, children, and adolescents; health system strengthening and implementation science; climate change and health; global trauma and violence prevention; and global medicines safety with a cross-cutting focus on social justice and equity. The Center for Integrated Health of Women, Children, and Adolescents, for example, includes at least 22 collaborations (13 on campus and partnerships in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Peru). And the initiative on Climate Change and Global Health involves more than 25 collaborations on campus and beyond.
Its closely affiliated centers also include the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), the International Clinical Research Center (ICRFC), the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Health Alliance International (HaI), and the Global Health Resource Center (GHRC).
The Department has strong ties in Kenya, Peru, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. But worldwide, the Department works with nearly 250 collaborting organizations, including universities and hospitals, NGOs, government agencies, and ministries of health.
Quote from Howard Frumkin MD, MPH, Dean of the UW School of Public Health: "Global health represents the best of academic health sciences -- transdisciplinary systems thinking, cross-cultural sensitivity, rigorous scientific research, hands-on participatory training, effective service delivery with impact empirically measured, and sustainable collaboration. This Department is outstanding. "
Doctoral Programs: The Department offers a doctoral program in Pathobiology. A doctoral program in global health with emphases on health metrics and evaluation and implementation science is in development.
Fellowship Programs: The Department offers post-bachelor and post-graduate fellowship programs with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Certificate Programs: The Department has a certificate program in Global Health and a program in AIDS and STIs. Medical students also can take a Global Health Pathway.
Undergraduate Programs: An undergraduate minor in global health was launched in January 2011.
and the WHO
HIV/AIDS program, was originally a candidate for director of the department, but was not selected. A controversial second selection process involving three new candidates took place in late 2005 and early 2006. The process was criticized for not being open, and there was concernamong the student body and faculty about the chosen chair. Some feared that the department would be too heavily oriented towards biomedical research
and biotechnology
(e.g. vaccine
development) and would neglect the broader issues of public health, such as social justice
, health disparities
, prevention
, promotion
, human resources in health, and public policy
. Some also feared that the areas of education and service would be sacrificed for a research agenda, and pointed to the fact that one of the first steps in implementing the department was the leasing of a large facility off campus in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood - an area being developed as a biotechnology hub.
Those within the process argued that planning was open and that the department would be multidisciplinary and would live up to its stated vision of taking a broad approach to global health. They also noted that while the department would have some facilities off campus, it would be primarily based at the university; the deans of the schools committed to finding on-campus space to house the department's administrative offices, although much of the lab space was planned to be located in a building in the Eastlake neighborhood.
In Spring, 2006, Michael Merson of Yale University
was offered the position of director. However, in July of that year it was announced that Merson had been appointed direct of Duke University
's Global Health Institute.
On September 8, University of Washington announced King K. Holmes, MD, PhD, a world leader in AIDS and infectious disease research and training, to become the first chair of the University of Washington's new Department of Global Health. His leadership in global health research and training, and experience as a public-health practitioner, will serve Holmes well in leading the Department of Global Health, according to Paul G. Ramsey, dean of the School of Medicine.
University of Washington School of Medicine
The University of Washington School of Medicine is a public medical school located in Seattle, Washington.-Overview:UWSOM is a graduate school affiliated with the University of Washington, and is the only medical school in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho...
and Public Health at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. Its aim is to provide a multidisciplinary venue to address issues of global health
Global health
Global health is the health of populations in a global context and transcends the perspectives and concerns of individual nations. Health problems that transcend national borders or have a global political and economic impact, are often emphasized...
at the university.
The department was begun with funding supplied by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
About the Department
The Department of Global Health was launched in January 2007 with generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the state of Washington, and the University of Washington, with a mandate to harness the extraordinary expertise, energy, and creativity of faculty across all 17 UW schools and colleges to create one of the most comprehensive academic global health programs in the world.[1]The pioneering work of UW researchers in sexually transmitted diseases in the 1970s and 1980s paved the way for the University's leading role in HIV/AID research and training, and, now, global health.
The Department is housed in both the School of Medicine and School of Public Health and has formed linkages across campus and throughout the world to help address not only infectious diseases but a host of pressing global health issues, including health metrics and evaluation; the health of women, children, and adolescents; health system strengthening and implementation science; climate change and health; global trauma and violence prevention; and global medicines safety with a cross-cutting focus on social justice and equity. The Center for Integrated Health of Women, Children, and Adolescents, for example, includes at least 22 collaborations (13 on campus and partnerships in Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Peru). And the initiative on Climate Change and Global Health involves more than 25 collaborations on campus and beyond.
Its closely affiliated centers also include the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), the International Clinical Research Center (ICRFC), the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), Health Alliance International (HaI), and the Global Health Resource Center (GHRC).
The Department has strong ties in Kenya, Peru, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. But worldwide, the Department works with nearly 250 collaborting organizations, including universities and hospitals, NGOs, government agencies, and ministries of health.
Quote from Howard Frumkin MD, MPH, Dean of the UW School of Public Health: "Global health represents the best of academic health sciences -- transdisciplinary systems thinking, cross-cultural sensitivity, rigorous scientific research, hands-on participatory training, effective service delivery with impact empirically measured, and sustainable collaboration. This Department is outstanding. "
Education
Master's Level: The Department offers several global health tracks for a master of Public Health degree: General; Leadership, Policy, and Management; Health Metrics and Evaluation; Peace Corps; Epidemiology; and concurrent degrees.Doctoral Programs: The Department offers a doctoral program in Pathobiology. A doctoral program in global health with emphases on health metrics and evaluation and implementation science is in development.
Fellowship Programs: The Department offers post-bachelor and post-graduate fellowship programs with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
Certificate Programs: The Department has a certificate program in Global Health and a program in AIDS and STIs. Medical students also can take a Global Health Pathway.
Undergraduate Programs: An undergraduate minor in global health was launched in January 2011.
Selection of the Chair
Jim Yong-Kim, formerly of Partners in HealthPartners In Health
Partners In Health is a Boston, Massachusetts-based non-profit health care organization dedicated to providing a "preferential option for the poor". It was founded in 1987 by Dr. Paul Farmer, Ophelia Dahl, Thomas J. White, Todd McCormack, and Dr...
and the WHO
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
HIV/AIDS program, was originally a candidate for director of the department, but was not selected. A controversial second selection process involving three new candidates took place in late 2005 and early 2006. The process was criticized for not being open, and there was concernamong the student body and faculty about the chosen chair. Some feared that the department would be too heavily oriented towards biomedical research
Biomedical research
Biomedical research , in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research, applied research, or translational research conducted to aid and support the body of knowledge in the field of medicine...
and biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
(e.g. vaccine
Vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
development) and would neglect the broader issues of public health, such as social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, health disparities
Health disparities
Health equity refers to the study of differences in the quality of health and health care across different populations....
, prevention
Preventive medicine
Preventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
, promotion
Health promotion
Health promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
, human resources in health, and public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
. Some also feared that the areas of education and service would be sacrificed for a research agenda, and pointed to the fact that one of the first steps in implementing the department was the leasing of a large facility off campus in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood - an area being developed as a biotechnology hub.
Those within the process argued that planning was open and that the department would be multidisciplinary and would live up to its stated vision of taking a broad approach to global health. They also noted that while the department would have some facilities off campus, it would be primarily based at the university; the deans of the schools committed to finding on-campus space to house the department's administrative offices, although much of the lab space was planned to be located in a building in the Eastlake neighborhood.
In Spring, 2006, Michael Merson of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
was offered the position of director. However, in July of that year it was announced that Merson had been appointed direct of Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
's Global Health Institute.
On September 8, University of Washington announced King K. Holmes, MD, PhD, a world leader in AIDS and infectious disease research and training, to become the first chair of the University of Washington's new Department of Global Health. His leadership in global health research and training, and experience as a public-health practitioner, will serve Holmes well in leading the Department of Global Health, according to Paul G. Ramsey, dean of the School of Medicine.