By Violet Glickman, Global Health Communications Intern

Cover photo of antenatal nurse providing counseling and a checkup for a pregnant woman at the Mukujju clinic in Tororo, Uganda, courtesy of imagesofempowerment.com, Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images

Pressing global health challenges — including the rise of extreme heat, increasing vector-borne diseases, and growing numbers of displaced people — require nimble, innovative, and collaborative responses. Today, Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health proudly announces 17 global health seed grant awards that will support multidisciplinary teams in pioneering solutions in partnership with local healthcare providers in many countries around the world.

Since the program’s inception in 2011, CIGH has funded more than 100 early-stage global health research projects, prioritizing cross-disciplinary, context-based initiatives that advance health equity. They’ve catalyzed solutions to emerging global health threats such as Ebola and COVID-19, enabled the exploration of low-cost health innovations, and helped advance equitable research partnerships.

This year’s projects span a wide range of disciplines and continents to address critical and emerging global health issues. To name just a few, projects include: creating a multi-disciplinary trauma care curriculum for practitioners in Burkina Faso; developing global strategies for adapting to extreme heat while prioritizing vulnerable populations; investigating the use of antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections in transgender women; and developing a cost-effective device for children who require tube feeding in Chile. 

The research projects would not be possible without the generous support of CIGH’s funding partners. These partners are: Stanford Medicine’s departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Medicine, Ophthalmology, Pathology, and Surgery; the Woods Institute for the Environment; the School of Medicine Dean’s Office; the Maternal and Child Health Research Institute; and the Stanford Health Care Health Equity Program. 

“These seed grants cross over many departments and schools and continue to catalyze exciting global health work at Stanford. Our partners’ support helps advance global and planetary health research and establishes and expands international collaborations to improve health for those in need,” said Dr. Michele Barry, Director of CIGH and the Senior Associate Dean for Global Health in the School of Medicine.

Learn about each project via the links below. Applications for next year’s seed grant awards will open in early 2025.