The Global Health Initiative

Spotlight: SPH-GHI Global Health Map

This SPH-GHI Global Health Map features SPH faculty and student projects around the world. We hope this map offers a way to connect and inform our community with what we are doing globally. Projects include research, courses, practice and service, and combinations of these categories. The map is interactive, so clicking on a red cluster will display SPH projects happening there. All projects have links or investigator emails, so you can definitely get more information. If you can contribute to this map, please fill out the New Project Form. We encourage faculty and students to feature their current projects, outside of those exclusively in the United States.

Spotlight: GHI 2025 Fellowship Awardees!

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Nick An

I left the conference feeling inspired and motivated after talking and hearing from so many researchers who were using applied microbiology to monitor and mitigate water-related health challenges.

Hear More from Nick: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRc5AWwkqmB/

Adithya Sobha

"The hands that folded in prayer at the temples were the same hands that practiced CPR at our sessions, the same hands that helped us collect water samples to ensure a healthier tomorrow."

Hear More from Adithya: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRPsMfdEbU0/

Akunna Okonkwo

"For many of the girls we met, their world is confined to just a few kilometers of their village. Yet their resilience, laughter, and strength spoke volumes."

Hear More from Akunna: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ5VyjBkTtm/

Mahika Vedire

"One of our primary initiatives was leading First Aid workshops at Baranas Hindu University and Southpoint School."

Hear More from Mahika: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQnIg6nESsF/

Tabara Kaloga

"I visited Nairobi, Kenya's beautiful and exciting capital city, Limuru, a peaceful area with beautiful tea farms, and the Maasai Mara... each place taught me something new about culture, community, and the importance of sustainability and public health."

Hear More from Tabara: https://www.instagram.com/p/DQXskIxEZf5/

Mia Owens

"Studying abroad has been a goal of mine since I was a kid. I'm so grateful I began my global education journey with this incredible experience. I'm looking forward to continuing to explore the world through a global health lens."

Hear More from Mia: https://www.instagram.com/p/DP6ojCQkWJ-/

Clare Ijoma

"As we continue analyzing the data and preparing our findings for publication, I am excited about the potential impact this research will have in shaping future interventions aimed at empowering young girls and improving health outcomes."

Hear More from Clare: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPmsWpckttc/

Global Health Initiative Announces 2025 Faculty Travel and PhD Seed Grant Awardees

The Global Health Initiative (GHI) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Faculty Travel and PhD Seed Grant Awards, recognizing exceptional proposals to make lasting contributions to global health research and innovation. These awards provide critical support to faculty and emerging scholars who are building new collaborations, advancing the frontiers of global health through impactful, cross-disciplinary research.

Dr. Heather Amato was awarded the 2025 GHI Faculty Travel Award to support the advancement of molecular pathogen and AMR surveillance and strengthen research partnership between the UMD-SPH and collaborators at Kathmandu University and Dhulikhel Hospital in rural Nepal. The award will fund travel for collaborators from Nepal to visit UMD for wet lab training, partnership building, and travel for UMD-SPH researchers to visit Nepal to support capacity building exercises. Dr. Amato’s initiative aims to foster long-term collaboration, enhance laboratory skills, and improve regional capacity for molecular diagnostics and AMR research.

Claire Barlow, PhD student in Environmental Health Sciences, plans to leverage existing relationships with communities, partner schools, and international collaborators in Varanasi, India to quantify E. coli and assess the amount of fecal pollution that villagers may be exposed to through their drinking water. As groundwater contamination in Varanasi continues to pose a significant public health risk, this work aims to improve water quality monitoring and enhance the effectiveness of water safety interventions. “Clean drinking water is a human right,” said Barlow. “Through research, collaboration, and cross-cultural learning, we can improve global public health outcomes.”

Angshuman Kashyap, PhD student in Behavioral and Community Health, will conduct a mixed-methods study with young men (ages 18–21) in Delhi and Dar es Salaam about how they engage with digital sexual content, and how this shapes their knowledge and attitudes toward Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH). His work aims to center young men back in the SRH conversation, recognizing that young men in India and Tanzania are turning to digital media, including social media and online games, for information on sexual content. Kashyap’s work will lead to the adaptation and validation of an age and culturally appropriate tool to measure digital media exposure among youth in these regions.

GHI congratulates Dr. Heather Amato, Angshuman Kashyap, and Claire Barlow and looks forward to the impactful research they will contribute to the global health community!

We anticipate offering more seed grants in 2025-2026.

Student Profile: Adriana Koilpillai

Almost every single part of my resume has something that was given to me as an opportunity by Public Health Beyond Borders.

Adriana Koilpillai BS '26 Read Adriana's profile

Alumna Profile: Lydia Walter

Lydia Walter, BS' 25

Lydia Walter served as Project Leader for PHBB India from 2022 to 2024 and PHBB president from 2024 to 2025. As part of two travel teams to Varanasi, India, Walter helped deliver stress management, team building and first aid workshops based on community needs assessments. Walter and her team were able to present research findings at the American Public Health Association conferences. Walter has since graduated and is now serving in the Peace Corps in Peru.