Welcome to the Office of Research Training and Fellowships! We provide leadership toward strategic planning, workforce development, and quality improvement initiatives that advance the domestic and global graduate research training mission of the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID).
Preparing the next generation of global health leaders
The two primary training hubs in IGHID are the Fellowship and Training Programs Office specializing in domestic and international training programs, and the Office of Global Education for UNC medical students and resident physicians. Both provide programmatic oversight to support doctoral and postdoctoral trainees in a variety of research focus areas and locations geographically. Elucidating emerging and long standing challenges in global health requires exposure to a variety of perspectives in order to understand social, economic, and biomedical determinants. In conjunction with dedicated mentoring, our programs are able to provide a comprehensive foundation in training future global health leaders. UNC faculty, colleagues and associates in the United States and abroad are committed to ensuring robust clinical and non-clinical experiences for professional and personal growth.
Other didactic components include the jointly sponsored UNC Division of Infectious Diseases – UNC Center for Aids Research weekly Friday Conference Series highlighting global and domestic research at UNC and partnering institutions; ACGME infectious diseases subspecialty training stints in China, Malawi, and South Africa; residency training in Global Surgery or Obstetrics; the Global Women’s Health Fellowship for postdocs, and global health elective courses for students at all levels.
The administrative director and coordinating team play a primary role in growing the number of academic training opportunities in the UNC School of Medicine funded by the NIH, specifically the Fogarty International Center and the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as well as foundation grants. Currently, there are nine active training programs for doctoral and postdoctoral level graduate students, six of which are international. The Office onboards >65 active trainees per academic year and follows 350+ trainees for evaluation and program renewal purposes.
The Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) has training programs currently operating in 15 countries on 6 continents through the Fogarty Fellowship UJMT Consortium. All fellowship and training programs are managed through the IGHID Fellowship and Training Programs Office.
Benjamin Chi is Professor of Global Women's Health with appointments in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Epidemiology. He has retained strong collaborative ties with the University of Zambia and the Zambian Ministry of Health, after living in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2003 to 2015, where he developed an extensive research portfolio focused on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), HIV care and treatment, and maternal-child health.
