Author: ihsection

IHME Post-Graduate Fellowship (Seattle, WA)

by ihsection, posted in Information and Social Media, Internships and Fellowships

The Post-Graduate Fellowship (PGF) is an intensive training program that provides opportunities for self-directed research and interdisciplinary collaboration in health metrics. Strong candidates for this program have graduate-level training in quantitative methodology from one of the following areas: health policy, economics, mathematics, computer science, statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, health services, demography, engineering, physics, medical sciences, or other related fields. The PGF program combines academic research, education and training, and professional work with progressive, on-the-job training and mentoring from an accomplished group of professors and researchers.

The purpose of the fellowship is to:

  • Enhance skills in conducting in-depth, methodological research on a variety of global health topics with mentoring from faculty and researchers who are the leading minds in their fields.
  • Advance knowledge of quantitative analytical methodologies and their applications to global health.
  • Develop understanding of the current global health landscape and its challenges.
  • Strengthen the ability to design and implement research projects and mentor junior researchers.
  • Prepare fellows for future positions in academia, national health agencies, international organizations, and foundations.

Fellows receive training through on-the-job research, methods workshops, access to University of Washington courses, and on-site lectures and seminars. Fellows contribute directly to IHME’s research agenda through their involvement in research teams, development of new methods, and managing and driving research projects to meet deliverables.

Eligibility and application information

In order to be considered for a Post-Graduate Fellowship, candidates must have the following:

  • PhD or MD.
  • Strong quantitative background.
  • Advanced research experience, especially with data analysis and statistical methods.

Applications are due on November 1. Candidate selection includes phone interviews and in-person interviews held at IHME. Admissions decisions are made by the end of February for fellows that will join IHME the following fall.

Applications for the IHME Post-Graduate Fellowship include:

  1. A cover letter that includes your full contact information (address, phone number, and email); the name, affiliation, and full contact information of three references; and which of IHME’s research areas you are most interested in; how you learned about the program.
  2. Your curriculum vitae or resume.
  3. A personal statement describing your interest in IHME and your professional and academic interests and objectives. Personal statements should be between 750 and 1,000 words.
  4. Three letters of recommendation.
  5. The educational transcript from your highest degree attained. If your transcripts are not in English, please also provide a listing of all coursework with grade and credit hour information.
  6. An English reprint of your most significant publication or research paper.
  7. Proof of proficiency in English for candidates whose native language is not English.

How to submit your application
Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application online starting August 1, 2011. If you are in a resource-poor setting or do not have internet access, applications can be mailed to:

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
University of Washington
Attention: PGF Program
2301 Fifth Ave., Suite 600
Seattle, WA 98121 USA

More information about the program is available here.  Questions and inquiries may be emailed to gf@healthmetricsandevaluation.org.

Global Health News Last Week

by ihsection, posted in News

POLITICS AND POLICY

  • Attacks on aid workers are on the increase and one writer believes this largely due to the current “integrated mission” focus of the UN and other donors.
  • If the Global Fund is to avoid further adverse media coverage and further consequent donor nervousness, it must urgently implement a more effective and fine-tuned approach to the issues of corruption and transparency.
  • The families of two women who died in childbirth are starting a legal action against the government of Uganda, alleging that the inadequate care and facilities provided for pregnant women caused the deaths and violates their country’s constitution and women’s rights to life and health.
  • The results of a recent bombshell study revealing the impact of taking ARVs and the spread of HIV has the Obama administration doing some serious pondering over the impact of a policy change.
  • The elimination of mother-to-child transmission has become the focus of Rwanda’s ministry of health for reducing the rate of HIV.
  • The states in India have been directed by the central government to provide free healthcare to pregnant women and sick neonatal children effective June 1.
  • The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has frozen payments on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of disease-fighting grants to China, one of the charity’s biggest recipients, in a dispute over China’s management of the grants and its hostility toward involving grass-roots organizations in public health issues.
  • Government think-tanks in China and India have recommended a jointly funded initiative to strengthen traditional medicine innovations in both countries.

PROGRAMS

  • In Ghana, the Oxytocin Initiative Project has begun testing whether community health workers can safely and effectively prevent postpartum hemorrhage.
  • ‘Tupange’ is the name of a new outreach program in Kenya that hopes to increase and sustain contraceptive use among urban women.

RESEARCH

  • Researchers discuss the new developments in vaccines for HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB in the scientific journal Nature.
  • Vuvuzelas – the horns used by football fans celebrating last year’s World Cup – not only cause noise pollution but may also spread diseases, say experts. In crowded venues one person blowing a vuvuzela could infect many others with airborne illness like the flu or TB. Mercifully, organisers are considering whether to ban them at the 2012 London Olympics.
  • Published by the Institute for Economics & Peace, the Global Peace Index tries to measure peace. This year has seen the world become less peaceful for the third year in a row – and highlights what it says is a continuing threat of terrorism.
  • It may be against the law, but wealthier, better-educated families in India are choosing more and more often to abort pregnancies if the child is female, researchers in Canada and India report in the Lancet.
  • Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston find that diabetics have a higher risk of contracting TB.
  • Lancet once called it “potentially the most important medical advance of the 20th century.” But today, oral rehydration therapy (ORT) — a simple treatment often consisting of a home solution of sugar, salt and water — is under-used, causing untold deaths of children.

DISEASES AND DISASTERS

TOTALLY UNRELATED TO ANYTHING ELSE: Apparently, to Nigerians, Bill and Melinda Gates do not look like rich people.

Results for Children: Save the Children Introduces New Format for Providing Program Information

by ihsection, posted in Aid Effectiveness, Information and Social Media

This is interesting. In this video, Save the Children’s president and CEO Charlie MacCormack explains that the organization is moving toward a new way of sharing information and updates about their various projects and activities. They plan on moving from an annual report to a quarterly one and changing the format of their reporting. On their Results for Children page, they explain:

We proudly present the first issue of Results for Children, an update showcasing Save the Children’s impact on the lives of children in more than 120 countries worldwide. With this report, we hope to more dynamically communicate with supporters: In place of our former annual report, Results for Children—a quarterly publication—brings you the latest results from our programs based on project data, stories and feedback from children in their own words.

They are also encouraging individuals to submit feedback to results@savechildren.org.