• Director's Message
• Administration
• Advisory Board
• News
  • Announcements & Events
  • Blog
  • For the Media
  • News Archive

• By Region
  • Asia
    • Global Food Safety
    • HIV and STDs
    • More Programs
    • Student Initiatives
  • Latin America
    • Guatemala
    • Nicaragua
    • More Programs
    • Student Initiatives
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
    • UNC Project-Malawi
    • UNC Project-Uganda
      • Pediatric Care
      • Training
      • Partners
      • Blog
    • More Programs
    • Student Initiatives
• Education
  • Courses
  • Workshops & Seminars
• Service and Volunteer
• Funding Opportunities

•  
•  
•  

• Staff Directory
• For the Media
• Make a Gift

IGHID hosts first Morehead-Cain scholars in Malawi

April 28, 2009 -- The UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases will be welcoming its first Morehead-Cain scholars this summer at UNC Project-Malawi.

Sophomores Elizabeth Monier and Olivia Myrick will spend 6 weeks at the institute’s research, care, and training facility in the capital city of Lilongwe. The students will work with MD/PhD student Lillian Brown on a database maintained at the UNC Project’s STD clinic. This database tracks critical information that is used for research studies and to improve clinical care. They will also assist the clinic with ongoing research and clinical care.

Monier, a double-major in Biology and Spanish, is looking forward to the chance to learn about Malawi culture and assist on a research project. “This experience will provide incredible insight into the relationship between cultural beliefs and the fight against HIV/AIDS,” Monier said. Monier plans to attend medical school and would someday like work with Doctors without Borders.

Myrick is majoring in Spanish with a double minor in Chemistry and Dramaturgy, and she too plans to attend medical school. “An intense medical experience such as this,” Myrick said, “will definitely allow me to gain a lot of perspective.”

UNC Project was established in 1991 and is a partnership between UNC, the Malawi Ministry of Health, and Kamuzu Central Hospital. With a faculty and staff of nearly 300, UNC Project is a dynamic partnership of research and exchange in the study, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS.

The Morehead-Cain Scholars Program was the first non-athletic merit scholarship in the United States, offering four-year scholarships to undergraduates at Carolina since 1951. The distinguishing feature of the scholarship is its summer enrichment programs, which provide global hands-on leadership and problem-solving experiences in the areas of outdoor leadership,
public service, private enterprise, and international research.

More information:
UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases
UNC Project-Malawi
Morehead-Cain Scholars Program

Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases contact: Lisa Chensvold, (919) 843-5719, lisa_chensvold@med.unc.edu.