“The CIGH grant allowed us to start a new collaboration between world experts in materials science, virology, and microbiology [and develop] a new sensor technology for multiplexed pathogen detection. We are now deploying our technology in the Global South for TB detection, as well as on autonomous underwater vehicles (for analysis of marine samples).”

—Dionne, PhD, on a grant that inspired new collaborations, follow-on research projects, new technology, and a company.

“For the first time, Octopi can now do an accurate diagnosis in minutes in the middle of nowhere with no other infrastructure. No power? No internet? No problem!”

—Prakash, PhD, on the invention of a robotic device that automatically diagnoses malaria in blood smears. Prakash’s frugal innovations, many developed with support from CIGH, bring affordable science and healthcare to low-income settings globally.

“What’s most exciting—and truly inspiring—about this grant is its bold, equity-driven vision to transform pediatric palliative care in some of the world’s most underserved communities”

—Baker, MD, is leveraging a seed grant to achieve his goal of bringing the same high-quality palliative care to terminally ill children in the US to children around the globe.

“Recent technological advances in high-resolution remote sensing and artificial intelligence have allowed us to completely reimagine how we study interactions between the environment and humans and how we respond to a rapidly changing environment.”

—Rosser’s, MD, groundbreaking work to track vector-borne diseases using drones and AI was supported by CIGH seed grants and a CIGH fellowship.

“This grant allowed us to pull together an international coalition of researchers, policymakers, humanitarian actors, and clinicians to set an optimal framework that [guides] surgical humanitarian care in modern conflict.”

—Wren, MD, leveraged a seed grant to develop a framework for the humanitarian surgical response to armed conflict in 21st century warfare.

“Successfully implementing this program in my hospital — and eventually expanding it to other settings — will help reduce the burden of chronic hepatitis B virus infection. This, in turn, will lower the incidence of hepatitis B-associated liver cirrhosis and liver cancer in Ghana, contributing to both local and global elimination efforts.”

—Nartey, MBChB, PhD, has teamed up with Dr. Samuel So of Stanford’s Asian Liver Center through the Stanford African Scholars in Global Health (SASH) program to combat the global burden of hepatitis B, with a particular focus on mothers and newborns in Ghana.

“If you’re blind your whole life from a disease that costs a hundred bucks and two minutes of a surgeon’s time to treat, that’s painful. It’s inexcusable that this is the status quo, and we’re doing our best to move things forward.”

—Brant, MD, on Zero Blind Babies, which he started with medical student Sarthak Shah and Stanford global ophthalmology leader Geoffrey Tabin, MD. With Dr. Akwasi Ahmed of Ghana, the program has revolutionized access to eye care in Sub-Saharan Africa by providing low-cost screening and treatment to babies across the region.

“The challenges in global health are too big and too complex to leave half the talent sitting on the sidelines.”

—Under the leadership of Michele Barry, MD, CIGH in 2020 launched WomenLift Health, which scaled into a global nonprofit with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. WomenLift is dedicated to expanding the power and influence of talented, diverse women in global health and has trained more than 3,000 women globally.

“The future of global health lies in building resilient healthcare systems. We hope this series not only helped train the workforce but also had an impact on the quality of care delivered and greater safety for patients.”

—To address a gap in critical care education globally, Crawford and Andrea Comiskey, MD, leveraged a CIGH seed grant to develop an online series which taught more than 7,000 clinicians around the world to identify the bedside needs of patients at greatest risk of critical illness and improve the quality of care delivered even with constrained resources.

“CIGH has been instrumental in shaping the development of the Center for Human and Planetary Health at Stanford. Its long-standing leadership in interdisciplinary global health has created a strong foundation for collaboration across the university, enabling us to build new programs that bridge global health and sustainability.”

—Phillips, managing director of the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health, which is researching and innovating solutions to environmental stressors on health.

“The idea that technology could help secure a reliable antibiotic supply — and ultimately strengthen antimicrobial stewardship — was fascinating. Our shared interest in improving access to essential medicines made the collaboration a natural fit, and it grew organically from that initial introduction when I was at Stanford.”

—Dame, MBChB, on a collaboration with a startup led by a Stanford student designed to address medication stockouts in low-resource settings. This collaboration began through the Stanford African Scholars in Global Health (SASH) program, where Dame is developing a pediatric antibiotic stewardship program in Ghana.