In February, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) held its 2025 annual international conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 2008, CUGH has a mission to empower academic institutions and partners to tackle global health challenges and ultimately transform health outcomes worldwide. The organization aims to enhance the well-being of individuals and the planet through education, research, service, and advocacy. The event was co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH).
The annual conference attracts educators, researchers, practitioners, and students from various medical and non-medical fields worldwide. Nearly 20 faculty, staff, and students from VIGH and Vanderbilt attended the conference. VIGH was represented at the conference through a series of presentations, engaging panel discussions, and the recognition of one distinguished alumnae with an award.
Panelists included Muktar Aliyu, MD, DrPH, MPH who participated on the "Co-design and Co-creation of Global Health Interventions: Grassroots Collaboration" panel, and Rondi Kaufmann, MD was on the "Creating Equitable Partnerships Through Policy: Overcoming Federal, State, and Institutional Barriers to Bidirectional Global Health Education Exchanges" panel. Additionally, Sarah Crane presented an oral abstract titled "Effectiveness of Training Residents as Teachers and Leaders for Health Systems Strengthening in Liberia."
Posters were presented by students and faculty, including Drs. Elizabeth Rose and Marie Martin from VIGH, along with Vanderbilt University Master of Public Health students Anna Clarke Paxton, Benmun Damul, and Julia Landivar Donato.
Poster titles included:
- Dr. Elizabeth Rose - Enhancing Teaching and Research Capacity in Nigeria: Innovative, Tailored, and Scalable Faculty Training Program and Developing Leadership Excellence: A University Leadership Training Programme for Health Professions Faculty in Zambia
- Dr. Marie Martin - Building the First High-Fidelity Medical Simulation Center in Liberia Through International Partnership
- Anna Clarke Paxton - Incorporating Scientific Posters into STEM Curriculum for High School Students in Liberia to Develop Confidence and Skills Necessary to Excel in a Future of Pursuing a Medical Education
- Benmun Damul – Mental Health Policy Interventions in Nigeria and Their Impact on Mental Health Service Delivery
- Julia Landivar Donato – Assessing the Implementation Fidelity of the National School Feeding Program in Rural Colombia: Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement
In addition, Vanderbilt MPH Alumna (2016) and former VIGH Research Assistant Emily Sheldon was awarded the Dr. Wasserheit Young Leader Award. Read more about Emily’s work and the award here.