NU Programs
The interdisciplinary nature of Global Health at Northwestern can be seen in the various campus-wide Global Health programs. These programs, housed in a broad spectrum of schools and departments, frequently collaborate and offer exciting developments and opportunities in research and education.
The Office of International Program Development (IPD)/Global Health Studies
The Office of International Program Development offers several different ways for students and faculty to get involved in global health. IPD directs the undergraduate Global Health Studies program which provides the academic option of the Global Health Minor. This program includes diverse course options and international opportunities for students to study, conduct research, and gain hands-on experience in Chile, China, Cuba, France, and South Africa. Other international opportunities include programs on topics in international and comparative studies, as well as several enigineering focused programs. Fellowships, scholarships, and travel stipends are also available through the IPD office.
The Center for Global Health - Feinberg School of Medicine
The mission of the Feinberg School of Medicine's Center for Global Health includes identification and implementation of research and educational training programs in resource-limited countries that will strengthen the infrastructure and optimize care for life-threatening conditions such as AIDS, tuberculosis, cancer and obesity. Improvement in global health will improve health for all citizens of the world, including those here in United States. The Center hopes to meet the needs and desires of faculty, residents and students, both here at Northwestern and in partner countries, for international research and training opportunities that reflect a global approach to complex and shared medical needs.
The Global Health Initiative (GHI) - Kellogg School of Management
Since its inception in 2004, almost 500 Kellogg students have actively participated in research and development efforts. Projects have included market research, public policy issues, market entry strategy, and product design and device specifications. International academic partners include Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Mbarara, Uganda.
The Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies (CIGHT) - McCormick Northwestern Engineering
CIGHT, the Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies, is a collaborative research center whose goal is to design innovative medical devices for resource limited settings within developing countries. CIGHT is creating a community of engineers, scientists, business professionals and corporate allies to address the needs of resource limited settings with a holistic approach that focuses on the patients, the healthcare providers and the public health environment within these targeted communities.
The Program for Public Health (PPH) - Feinberg School of Medicine
The Northwestern University Program in Public Health (PPH) educates students in a wide variety of graduate programs (medicine and law, and PhD programs in biological sciences, anthropology, and sociology, among others), as well as current health professionals, to span the boundaries between public health and their other fields of endeavor.
Laboratory for Human Biology Research - Department of Anthropology
The Laboratory for Human Biology Research is committed to collaborative, population-based research into the biological, social, and cultural factors that shape human biology and health in a range of international settings, including the U.S. A primary goal of the laboratory is the development of minimally invasive, "field-friendly" methods for assessing biomarkers of health and physiological development that can be used to facilitate community-based research on human biology. The laboratory is also committed to providing graduate and undergraduate students with opportunities to conduct independent human biology research. Lab members have conducted research in Russia, Kenya, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Samoa, the Philippines, and the U.S.
The Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies
The Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies sponsors and facilitates collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship on crucial problems facing the world. Activities promote dialogue on international affairs enriching the educational program at Northwestern.
Following are programs and initiatives by the Buffett Center related to global health:
Center for Forced Migration Studies (CFMS)
Founded in January 2010, the Center for Forced Migration Studies brings together an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students and fosters collaborative networks with organizations and practitioners to provide an extensive program of research, teaching, training, outreach and networking in forced migration studies. The study of forced migration closely correlates with questions of human rights, nationalism, failed states, disaster relief, rights of return, economic dislocation, ethics, global health, food and energy crises and the global financial crisis. Responses based on traditional distinctions between refugees and migrants have become less and less adequate given the changing nature of forced displacement.
Forum for Innovation & Change in Health (FICH)
FICH is part of the Wicked Innovation Management (WIM) Working Group, an initiative of the Center for Technology & Innovation Management, a unit of the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies. It focuses on needs, contexts, facts and issues of next generation innovation in the changing worlds of health service, in both developed and developing nations. Healthcare exemplifies the class of “wicked innovation problems” requiring decision-making under very complex, uncertain and ambiguous conditions. The Forum stimulates discussion among participants from academia and industry who span a wide range of disciplines and sectors which might not normally be involved or focused on the medical domain, but could have important insights. A key initiative of the Forum is exploration of industry innovation roadmapping.
Global Engagement Summer Institute (GESI)
Northwestern University's Global Engagement Summer Institute (GESI) is a summer study abroad and service learning program that prepares undergraduates to work in interdisciplinary teams at community-based host nonprofits in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Uganda and India. Students take courses on international development and community consulting before venturing abroad to do a team-based internship at an organization working on issues of microfinance, public health, education, women's empowerment, and environment. The GESI site in Nicaragua, thus far, only accepts students with an interest in public health.
The Institute for Policy Research
The Institute for Policy Research (IPR) is an interdisciplinary public policy research institute with the mission to stimulate and support excellent social science research on significant public policy issues and to disseminate the findings widely -- to students, scholars, policymakers, and the public at large. IPR research falls broadly into seven program areas: Child, adolescent, and family studies;Poverty, race, and inequality; Education Policy, Philanthropy and nonprofit organizations; Politics, institutions, and public policy; Social disparities and health; Quantitative methods for policy research; and Urban policy and community development.
