Global Health Scholars Track

Joseph Iskander and Rhea Marfatia.

Medical students Joseph Iskander, left, and Rhea Marfatia developed the Global Health Scholars Track for fellow students interested in learning how to engage in longitudinal global health projects in an ethical and responsible manner.

Our Global Health Scholars Track (GHST) is a four-year program that trains medical students to be future global health leaders through innovative curriculum, real-world experience, scholarly projects and mentorship.

Our Vision

A new cohort of four first-year medical students will be selected at the beginning of each academic year.

During the first two years of the program, students will receive an introduction to global medicine through faculty/guest lectures, peer-led workshops and global health grand rounds. Students will be paired with a faculty, resident and peer mentors to begin brainstorming service-learning project designs for their community of interest.

During their 3rd and 4th years, students may travel to their target community to facilitate implementation of their service-learning project. Students will assume leadership roles within GHST involving curriculum development, mentorship and administration.

At the end of their 4th year, students will be expected to present their service-learning project goals and conclusions to the Global Health Committee and GHST members. Additionally, if projects involve future work/follow-up students are responsible for handing off to new cohort members.

Community Partner

Jericho Road Community Health Center
Clinic locations: Sierra Leone (3 clinics), Nepal and Buffalo

Program Objectives

  • Establish opportunities for students to ethically engage with communities in low- and middle-income countries to promote health equity
  • Promote an interdisciplinary, sustainable and community empowering approach to combating health disparities in low-resource settings
  • Provide local and international experiences and training that expose students to diverse cultures and broaden their cultural perspectives

Program Requirements

  • Development of service learning project to address the needs of a target community
  • Participation in mentorship and leadership roles within GHST
  • Attendance of required didactic sessions and workshops
  • MS4 Cumulative Project presentation for Global Health Committee members

Application and Admissions Calendar

  • Application available: Late August of MS1 
  • Application deadline: Mid-September of MS1 
  • Interview: Mid-September to early October 
  • Acceptance notification: Mid-October of MS1 
  • Orientation/first cohort meeting: Late October of MS1

Contact Us

For more information or an application, please send an email to: ubglobalhealthscholarstrack@gmail.com