Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Sign up to learn more about news, events and opportunities with Stanford Global Health.

Global Health Residency Track

With more than 180 faculty fellows leading research projects and providing clinical care all over the world, 

Stanford Global Health can offer each resident a customized program that includes one-on-one 

mentoring and experience working overseas. The map below highlights the work and expertise of many of our Global Health mentors.

QUICK LINKS

Read the Global Health Track Brochure

Learn about our faculty fellows

  • DESIREE LABEAUD, MD

    Vector-Borne diseases

  • JASON ANDREWS, MD

    Tuberculosis and Epidemiology of Undifferentiated Fever

  • CLEA SARNQUIST, DRPH, MPH

    Gender-related Issues in Global Health

  • MANU PRAKESH, PHD

    Bioengineering and Development of Innovative Technologies

  • MINDIE NGUYEN, MD, MAS, FAASLD

    Gastroenterology and Hepatology

  • YVONNE A. MALDONDO, MD

    Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology

  • KAY DANIELS, MD

    Women’s Health and Obstectric Emergencies

  • AMI S. BHATT, MD, PHD

    Global Oncology

  • ERAN BENDAVID, MD

    Population Health and Outcomes Research

  • BENJAMIN PINSKY, MD, PHD

    Development of Novel Low-cost Diagnostics

  • KARL LORENZ, MS, MSHS

    Global Palliative Care

  • DARYN REICHERTER, MD

    Human Rights in Trauma in Mental Health

    • Current Global Health Track Residents

    Meet our current Global Health Track residents

    Savannah Karmen-Tuohy

    Global Health Track Resident

    Savannah Karmen-Tuohy

    Global Health Track Resident

    Savannah Karmen-Tuohy spent her undergraduate years studying Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins before matriculating at NYU School of Medicine. Before going to medical school, Savannah was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to participate in clinical research in Malawi for one year – in Malawi, she investigated the support needs of caregivers of children with behavioral problems following a diagnosis of cerebral malaria. Savannah also has an interest in COVID-19, where she studied the long-COVID syndrome in Botswana, and she participated in 3 COVID-related projects focusing on domestic underserved populations at Bellevue Hospital. In addition to her interest in clinical research, she is passionate about medical education and ethics.

    Nick Zehner

    Global Health Track Resident

    Nick Zehner

    Global Health Track Resident

    Nick Zehner studied Philosophy at Anderson University and joined the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. Following his Peace Corps stint, he worked as a regional leader for the Peace Corps before matriculating at Stanford School of Medicine. Nick pursued a Master’s in Epidemiology and Clinical Research, and he has used his skills in his research focusing on studying the natural history of malaria in the first year of life in Uganda, and studying malnutrition prevention / evaluating training of community health providers in in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nick also led an investigation of a COVID-19 outbreak at a Bay Area biotech company, finding that most of the infections were in the assembly workers, thereby highlighting healthcare disparities in our local population. Nick plans to pursue a fellowship in Infectious Diseases.

    Natasha Mehta

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-2

    Natasha Mehta

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-2

    During her undergraduate years at UCLA, Natasha had the opportunity to work with an organization in Uganda that was focused on water hygiene education; this experience motivated her to pursue a Masters in Global Health Sciences at UCSF. While earning her Master’s Degree, Natasha investigated the impact of stigma on fertility desire among women with HIV in Bangkok, Thailand. Throughout her medical school years at University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, she continued to develop her interests in stigma, infectious disease and access to health care by creating a pilot program to assess the acceptability and feasibility of HIV rapid testing of sex partners of incarcerated men in a prison waiting room in Bali, Indonesia. Through the global medicine program at UIC, she discovered her interest in global medical education and created a pre-and-post departure curriculum for students participating in international field work during medical school.  During her second year of residency, Natasha will be doing clinical service, teaching and research under the mentorship of Dr. Tariro Makadzange, studying HPV vaccination in Zimbabwe.

    Andrew Enslen

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-3

    Andrew Enslen

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-3

    Andrew completed his undergraduate years at Pepperdine University and his medical school training at UCSD. As a medical student, he earned an MPH from Harvard, focusing on Quantitative Methods and with a concentration in Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases. During his MPH year, he evaluated modifiable factors associated with infant death in Lusaka, Zambia and he assessed whether entomological surveys served as a useful tool to anticipate dengue outbreaks in Brazil.  During his residency, he has pursued opportunities to develop his passion for medical education in resource-limited settings. Specifically, during his junior year, he spent 4 weeks teaching at the bedside at the Centre Hospitalier de Kigali (Rwanda), and during his senior year, he will return to Rwanda to spend 7 weeks teaching in the medical school at the University of Global Health Equity in Butaro, Rwanda.

    Jassi Pannu

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-3

    Jassi Pannu

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-3

    Originally from Canada, Jassi spent her undergraduate years at McGill University, and then came to the United States to pursue medical school at Stanford. As a medical student, Jassi investigated international pandemic preparedness and she evaluated the global health landscape of broad-spectrum antivirals at Oxford University. Jassi also has an interest in bioinformatics, and during a sabbatical during medical school, she spent one year working at Google Health, where she helped to build machine learning powered medical tools. Her global health interests center in biosecurity and healthcare policy, where, in between her second and third years of residency, she is spending 6 months as a visiting scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. For her residency research project, Jassi is validating a low-cost malaria diagnostic test in rural Uganda under the mentorship of Dr. Manu Prakash.

    Brian Dawes

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-3

    Brian Dawes

    Global Health Track Resident, PGY-3

    Brian earned his undergraduate degree in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Illinois and his MD/PhD at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He completed his PhD research in the Galveston National Lab with extensive training in biosafety and biocontainment while working in high containment BSL3 and BSL4 labs. His dissertation research studied the effects of emerging encephalitic viruses on neural cells and how the immune responses in these cells affects viral replication.  He also assessed the use of the antiviral compound favipiravir against Nipah virus.  In addition to his research, Brian has contributed to Nipah virus and Zika virus vaccine development pipeline analyses for the WHO.  He remains committed to studying emerging viruses and developing effective countermeasures such as vaccines and antivirals.  He is especially interested in working with populations directly effected by these diseases and ensuring equitable, ethical, and timely access to approved and experimental countermeasures. During residency, he is studying the epidemiology of Rift Valley Fever virus under the mentorship of Dr. Desiree LaBeaud, and he is studying attitudes toward vaccination to Nipah virus in endemic areas under the mentorship of Dr. Stephen Luby.

    Global Health Track Programs & Offerings

    Global Health: Beyond Diseases and International Organizations

    In this intensive two-week course, directed by Dr. Cybele Renault, resident and fellows learn clinical and diagnostic skills to provide patient care in low-resource settings through case studies, simulations, and hands-on sessions. Interactive lectures in economics, public policy and city planning provide a comprehensive understanding of the challenges in global health.

    Visit program page

    Global Health Research Methods Retreat

    Dr. Stephen Luby, the Center’s Director of Research, teaches this two-day course for fellows, residents and medical students interested in developing research skills applicable to global health. Dr. Luby introduces participants to key issues in proposal development and provides a set of tools and an approach to help them develop their own research interests into tractable research questions.

    Visit program page

    Fair Oaks Continuity Clinic

    Working within the San Mateo County Medical Center system, global health track residents care for uninsured and underserved patient populations through the three years of their residency. The Fair Oaks Clinic, in nearby Redwood City, offers primary care for adults, family planning, women’s health and mental health services. Conversational Spanish skills are helpful but not required.

    Visit program page

    Social Medicine Rotation

    Working with the Santa Clara County Hospital System, global health residents in their second year pack medical supplies and gear into a backpack and spread out into the community to serve the homeless population during a one-month Social Medicine rotation. Residents experience the challenges associated with severe mental illness and addiction, and learn first-hand the complexity of needs that define chronic homelessness. 

    Visit program page

    Hot Topics in Global Health

    Global Health Track residents deliver these presentations to fellow residents on current issues or areas of research in global health. Each resident delivers a lecture during the noon conference, once during both the PGY-2 and PGY-3 years. Giving these lectures is an opportunity for residents to learn more about, and educate colleagues about, a current global health topic of interest and develop presentation skills.

     

    Recent presentations

    Quarterly Journal Clubs

    Dr. Michele Barry hosts small gatherings in her home to give track residents the opportunity to present cutting-edge research on a topic of their choice. Residents identify a paper or series of papers to discuss and invite the principal investigator to co-present and lead the discussion with the group. These informal dinners are multi-disciplinary and have led to longstanding collaborations among residents and Stanford faculty. 

    Recent meetings

    Mentoring and funding for a Masters degree

    Track residents have dedicated time overseas during their second and third years of residency. This time is used to participate in clinical work, research, and collaboration with a chosen site. Based on an individual’s interests, goals, and desired skill set, each resident works closely with a faculty mentor and has the option for a funded Masters degree in their desired area.

    Stanford Leaders in Global Health

    Michele Barry

    The Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson Professor of Medicine and Tropical Diseases | Senior Associate Dean of Global Health | Director of Global Health Initiatives in Medicine | Director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health

    Cybele Renault, MD, DTM&H

    Internal Medicine Program Lead, Global Health | Clinical Associate Professor, Medicine |Faculty Fellow, Center for Innovation in Global Health

    Stephen Luby, MD

    Director of Research, Center for Innovation in Global Health | Professor of Medicine (Infectious Disease) | Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Freeman Spogli Institute

    Events

    Global Health Research Convening 2022

    This one-day conference, led by Dr. Stephen Luby, brings together students and faculty working in global health, fostering discussion across a variety of disciplines. Engineers, economists, earth scientists, mathematical modelers and physician-scientists share ideas and explore new collaborations, sustainable solutions and opportunities for student engagement.

    Learn more

    Conversations in Global Health

    We invite leaders from government, non-governmental organizations, universities and foundations to speak with students, faculty and members of our community about making a career, and a life, in global health. We have featured the President of the World Bank, the Executive Director of the World Food Programme; and a Director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

    Learn more

    Fall Kickoff and Summer Solstice Celebrations

    Every year, we invite the entire global health community to come together for a Fall Kickoff Party and a Summer Solstice Celebration. Over food and drinks, students, researchers, faculty and others discuss their latest projects and initiatives. In a relaxed social setting, collaborations are born, ideas are shaped, and life-long friendships begin.

    Graduate Testimonials

    Name

    Andy Chang, MD, MS

    Location

    Uganda and Rwanda

    Year

    2015 & 2016

    “I can sincerely say that I would not be where I am today without the Stanford Medicine residency track in global health. My rotations in social medicine, homeless patient outreach clinic, and my time in Uganda and Rwanda helped me understand the scope of challenges faced by vulnerable populations worldwide, empowering me to advocate on their behalf while inspiring me to develop research projects to best address their entrenched health problems.”

    Name

    Laura Greisman, MD, DTM&H

    Location

    Nepal and Ethiopia

    Year

    2015 & 2016

    What truly sets apart the Stanford Global Health Track is the robust mentorship under which all residents are not only encouraged to carve out a personalized career pathway within global health but also provided opportunities to develop a unique skill set to help you achieve your career goals. I entered Stanford undifferentiated in my career pathway and unsure of how to best combine my passion for clinical medicine and medical education with a career in global health.

    Name

    Brian Dawes, MD, PhD

    Location

    Uganda

    Year

    2022

    The time spent in rotation at Kiruddu National Referral Hospital was one of the most influential, impactful, intellectually and emotionally challenging, and formative clinical experiences I have had. As I begin to reflect on this rotation, the initial themes that stand out to me are the challenges of working in a low resource setting with very little patient financial support, the differences in medical the medical training system, and the continued opportunities for improvement within the medical system.

    Name

    Josh Wong, MD

    Location

    Uganda and Colombia

    Year

    2019 & 2020

    “The Global Health Track took my internal medicine training and pushed it beyond national borders. I worked in hospitals in Uganda and Colombia and had a great time exchanging knowledge with the house staff working in these settings. I also gained so much from the VA Underserved Health rotation and the VMC Underserved Health rotation that taught me how to deliver care to hard-to-reach patients with difficult social situations.”

    Recent Graduates of Residents Track

    Andrew Young Chang, MD, MS

    ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, CARDIOLOGY | VA PALO ALTO POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW | STANFORD CARDIOVASCULAR INSTITUTE

    During medical school, Dr. Chang co-founded a social venture to develop a low-cost ventilatory support device for neonatal respiratory distress in resource-limited countries. During residency, he became interested in cardiology and subsequently conducted epidemiologic and qualitative research in women of reproductive age living with rheumatic heart disease in Uganda. After a Chief Resident year, he continued his training at Stanford as a Cardiology fellow, and earned a Master's Degree in Epidemiology and Clinical Research. He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Epidemiology. Dr. Chang's interests include outcomes research, implementation science, and health systems modeling to combat the rise of cardiovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries.

    Josh Wong, MD

    CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, DENGUE BRANCH, PUERTO RICO

    Before starting his medical career, Dr. Wong worked with the CDC in Kenya. As a medical student, he worked in South Africa, and as a resident, he worked in both Colombia and Uganda. Josh’s past experience with the CDC evolved into a passion for working in global health on a systems level. Following residency, he began his career as an Epidemiology Intelligence Officer for the CDC, and subsequently transitioned to a full-time position working within the CDC Dengue Branch in Puerto Rico.

    Yoanna Pumpalova, MD

    GASTROINTESTINAL ONCOLOGIST I COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

    Yoanna's interest in global health began when she worked in a clinic whose mission is to provide affordable and reliable cervical cancer screening to indigenous women in rural Peru. During her global health residency, she further defined her interest in global oncology, and she worked in Uganda during both her second and third years, studying prognostic awareness amongst women with metastatic breast cancer undergoing palliative chemotherapy. She completed her Hematology-Oncology fellowship at Columbia University, where she is now on the Oncology faculty. Her current research focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of colorectal cancer in low- and middle-income countries, namely South Africa and the Dominican Republic.

    Rebecca Tisdale, MD, MPA

    HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH FELLOW | STANFORD UNIVERSITY

    Dr. Tisdale earned a Master's of Public Affairs from the London School of Economics and Sciences Po in Paris, where she studied health policy and economics and worked in South Africa. She continued her research and clinical work in Ethiopia and Thailand during her MD at Columbia, then worked in Rwanda as a resident. After a Chief Resident year, she is now a fellow in Health Services Research and Development at Stanford and the Palo Alto VA studying value, access, and equity in cardiovascular disease care.

    Get in touch.

    At Stanford Global Health, we provide track residents with the mentoring, training and clinical opportunities necessary for them to become leaders, ready to address urgent challenges in global health.
    Email Us