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Programs in Building Community

Stanford Global and Planetary Health Research Convening

Learn about Stanford’s annual Global Health and Planetary Health Research Convening, which draws hundreds of global health researchers to foster discussion, learning, and collaboration.

Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Mitchell

About the Stanford Global and Planetary Health Research Convening

The 2026 Global and Planetary Health Research Convening will take place Wednesday, Jan. 28 from 9am – 3pm at Stanford. The theme will be Reimagining Global and Planetary Health, exploring potential solutions and strategies to help address global and planetary health challenges and build resilience. Keynote Speaker Dr. mike Reid will present “Seven Principles for Reimagining Global Health.” We are pleased to co-host this event along with the Stanford Center for Human and Planetary Health.

The Annual Global and Planetary Health Research Convening fosters discussion among researchers across a variety of disciplines whose work impacts global and planetary health. We welcome participants to share their ideas and experiences with global and planetary health research and to explore new collaborations and opportunities for student engagement in global and planetary health. Prior convenings have attracted broad participation from physician-scientists, engineers, economists, earth scientists ecologists, and mathematical modelers.

Register here

Keynote Speaker

mike Reid, MD

Talk Title: Seven Principles for Reimagining Global Health

Dr. mike Reid is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he practices as an Infectious Diseases physician and serves as Associate Director of the Center for Global Health Diplomacy, Delivery, and Economics.  Dr. Reid also serves as the Chief Science Officer in the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD) at the U.S. Department of State, where he leads scientific strategy and provides technical oversight for all programming under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). For over 15 years, Dr. Reid has led academic global health initiatives focused on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) policy, implementation science, and health systems strengthening, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan Africa. He has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications and was lead commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Tuberculosis.  He currently serves as chair of the Lancet Global Health Commission on HIV and AI. 

 

Reimagining Global and Planetary Health panelists

mike Reid, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco

mike Reid, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco

Dr. mike Reid is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he practices as an Infectious Diseases physician and serves as Associate Director of the Center for Global Health Diplomacy, Delivery, and Economics. 

Dr. Reid also serves as the Chief Science Officer in the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD) at the U.S. Department of State, where he leads scientific strategy and provides technical oversight for all programming under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

For over 15 years, Dr. Reid has led academic global health initiatives focused on HIV and tuberculosis (TB) policy, implementation science, and health systems strengthening, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan Africa. He has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications and was lead commissioner for the Lancet Commission on Tuberculosis.  He currently serves as chair of the Lancet Global Health Commission on HIV and AI. 

Dr. Reid completed his medical training at Cambridge University, followed by residency training in London, England, and New York, USA. He holds an MPH from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed his Infectious Diseases fellowship at UCSF. 

Maxine Burkett, J.D.

Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, Stanford University

Maxine Burkett, J.D.

Professor of Environmental Social Sciences, Stanford University

Maxine Burkett is a Professor of Environmental Social Sciences at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. Burkett’s research examines the relationship between environmental change and inequity and its impact on frontline communities, both domestic and international. With a background in law and diplomacy, her areas of expertise include climate change (international, national, subnational law and policy), ocean and coastal law, climate-related migration, and climate change and human security.

Professor Burkett most recently served as a Professor Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law as well as in senior roles at the White House and the State Department. At the State Department she oversaw the formulation and implementation of U.S. policy on a broad range of international issues concerning the oceans, the Arctic, the Antarctic, and marine conservation in her role as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs. She also served as a Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, where her portfolio included climate-related migration, climate security, bilateral relationships with island nations, and Indigenous Peoples’ engagement. From 2021-2023, Burkett was also a Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, where she advanced research on climate justice and public health.

Giulio De Leo, PhD

Earth System Science and of Oceans, Stanford University

Giulio De Leo, PhD

Earth System Science and of Oceans, Stanford University

Giulio De Leo is a Professor of Earth System Science and of Oceans. A disease ecologist by training, he is interested in investigating factors and processes driving the dynamics of coupled natural and human systems and using this knowledge to identify levers for health and conservation, i.e., ecological interventions that can improve human wellbeing and the health of the environment that underpins it.  In the last ten years, he has been particularly interested in investigating how the development of water management infrastructures to support agricultural expansion and intensification may increase the risk of transmission of schistosomiasis, one of the most important of the so called Neglected Tropical Diseases.  He is co-chair of the Engineering Working Group of the Global Schistosomiasis alliance and co-director of the Stamford Program for Disease Ecology in a Changing World.

He earned a master degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Politecnico di Milano (1989) and a PhD in ecology at University of Ferrara and Parma (1993) in Italy. He moved to Stanford University in 2012.

Christine Ngaruiya, MD, MSc, DTM&H

Associate Professor, Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine

Christine Ngaruiya, MD, MSc, DTM&H

Associate Professor, Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine

Christine Ngaruiya, MD, MSc, DTM&H is the Director of the Stanford EM International Global and Population Health Section (SEMI), and Associate Professor, in the Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM).

Previously she was on faculty in the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) at Yale University. She completed the Global Health and International Emergency Medicine fellowship in the Yale DEM in 2015, while also matriculating with a Master of Science and Diploma in Tropical Medicine and International Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her research interests center on: noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), barriers to care, community-based participatory research and implementation science with a particular focus on Africa.

Some past honors include: the Emergency Medicine Resident’s Association (EMRA) Augustine D’Orta Award for outstanding community and grassroots involvement, Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance Associate and the 2014 Harambe Pfizer Fellow Award for social entrepreneurship, the 2016 University of Nebraska Outstanding International Alumnus award, the 2018 Young Physician award of the Global Emergency Medicine Academy at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, the 2019 Yale School of Medicine Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine for clinical excellence and compassionate care, being selected as 1 of 30 WomenLift Health Women Leaders in Global Health in 2021, 1 of 25 US Schmidt Futures International Strategy Forum fellows in 2023, and as 1 of 100 National Academy of Sciences US-Africa Frontiers in STEM fellows in 2024.

She has held several national and international leadership positions including with: the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine, the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) as current co-chair of the Research Committee (2024-2026), the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM) and WomenLift Health. She was also a founding member of the Yale Network for Global Noncommunicable Disease (NGN). Her work has been funded by Yale University, the NIH (top 100 in Emergency Medicine), Gates Foundation, World Bank, USAID, the American Psychiatric Association, among others. She has served on a number of NIH panels related to global NCD topics, and has lectured both nationally and internationally on the same. Currently, she is a member of a World Health Organization (WHO) group developing an implementation science research agenda for global NCDs.

She is the global NCD section editor for PLOS Global Public Health, and also a fervent writer in the non-traditional sphere on global NCDs. To that end, she was selected as one of twenty Yale Public Voice Fellows for 2015-2016 from across campus with more than 20 publications in outlets such as Time, Huffington Post, Medium, and The Hill on the topic.

Transportation and Parking

The event will take place at Arrillaga Alumni Center. Visitor parking information can be found here.

If you are traveling to Stanford for this event, we encourage you to use public transportation. The Stanford shuttle, Marguerite, is free. If you are driving, please note that parking at Stanford is not free and there is no designated parking for the event.

Sustainability

Our Commitment to Sustainability

Human health is inextricably connected to the health of our planet. We believe doctors and others in the medical profession can play a leadership role in modeling a more sustainable way to work and live.

For these reasons, the Stanford Global and Planetary Health Research Convening strives to be as sustainable as possible. This includes offering a digital version of our printed program, providing a vegetarian, plant-forward lunch, utilizing compostable utensils, and donating leftover food.

Sustainable Healthcare

The global healthcare industry creates a large environmental footprint due to the supplies, water, and energy it requires, as well as the waste it produces. Thankfully, there are many ways at both the individual and system level to reduce carbon emissions and environmental impact without sacrificing quality. An online resource guide to greening health care practice and advocating for more sustainable medicine was created in partnership between the Center for Innovation in Global Health and Dr. Barbara Erny, a Global Health Faculty Fellow and leader in healthcare sustainability.

Learn more at the Stanford Health Care Office of Sustainability.

Sustainable Research

While academic research is essential for improving our understanding of complex issues and developing solutions to global challenges, laboratories themselves are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation. Globally, academic laboratories generate roughly 12 billion pounds of plastic waste each year, while also using 4x more water and 10x more electricity than office spaces of equal size. As scientists, we understand our responsibility to educate others on environmental awareness and action, but we must also strive to embody sustainability in our everyday work. Check out Stanford’s Cardinal Green Labs program to find resources on sustainability practices and to learn how your lab can cut back on its plastic, water, and energy demand. Look for more information and resources related to sustainability in labs at the Research Convening!