GHI offers grants for faculty, staff, students and visiting scholars

The Global Health Institute (GHI) will again award grants to faculty, staff and graduate students for work that advances global health research toward equitable and sustainable health for the world, GHI Acting Director Christopher Olsen announced Wednesday, October 29.  UW-Madison faculty, staff and graduate students whose work intersects with GHI’s Mission and Vision are especially invited to apply.

“GHI is delighted to be able to offer these awards in support of the global health efforts of faculty, staff and graduate students across the campus,” Olsen says. “These awards are designed to provide seed funding for research projects, international travel necessary to scope out new research or educational activities, and to bring global health scholars from across the world to UW-Madison. It is very important that the seed grant funding be used as support for research that will go on to attract external funding.”

“These awards are designed to provide seed funding for research projects, international travel necessary to scope out new research or educational activities, and to bring global health scholars from across the world to UW-Madison.”—Christopher Olsen, GHI acting director

The awards are especially valuable for supporting global health innvoations, says Dr. Tony Goldberg, GHI associate director for research. “Often, initial funding for innovative approaches to global health problems is difficult to obtain, especially if those solutions fall in the cracks between traditional disciplines,” he says.  GHI awards are specifically designed to “jump start” new interdisciplinary efforts that will later attract outside funding.

The Institute will again offer grants in four categories:

  • Seed Grants will support efforts to launch new global health research projects and make them competitive for sustained external funding. Three to five grants of up to $75,000 each will be awarded.
  • Graduate Student Research Awards supports doctoral students pursuing work in any relevant discipline whose graduate work will enhance global activities on the UW-Madison campus and beyond. Five to 10 grants of up to $5,000 each will be awarded.
  • Visiting Scholar Awards brings visitors to UW-Madison who substantially enhance global health activities on campus in collaboration with a sponsoring UW-Madison faculty member or faculty team. Five grants of up to $8,000 will be awarded.
  • Faculty and Staff Travel Awards are available for UW-Madison faculty and staff who are GHI affiliates. They can be used for international travel related to educational and research activities. Several grants of up to $2,500 will be awarded.

Previous awards allowed faculty, staff and graduate students to delve into topics from human and animal disease to agriculture and economic development. The  work led to improved medication safety in Ethiopia, looked at how to increase mango production to improve well-being in Haiti, evaluated the previously undefined prevalence of brucellosis in Ecuador, and more.

GHI grants also brought in scholars from around the world, who collaborated with UW-Madison faculty, staff and students and shared their expertise in public presentations. They also supported UW-Madison faculty and staff travel for research and educational program development.

GHI is dedicated to improving health in Wisconsin and across the world through research, education and community engagement.  Grant applications are available under the Research & Awards tab on the GHI website and are due by 5 p.m. Monday, January 12, 2015.  Faculty members who apply for seed grant funding are also required to submit a letter of intent by 5 p.m., December 1, 2014.

Ann Grauvogl/ October 30, 2014