Global Health
IMPACT: GLOBAL HEALTH
Driving Global Health Innovation from Local Action to Worldwide Impact
The Department of Global Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of people worldwide. In FY 2025, faculty, students, and partners advanced this mission through groundbreaking research in infectious diseases, food systems, adolescent health, and digital health, while strengthening collaborations that connect local and global action. From securing transformative grants to influencing policy and winning competitive awards, the department continues to demonstrate impact at scale.
BY THE NUMBERS
42
externally funded research projects, with more than $8.5M expenditures in FY2025, plus research funding across 11 new projects, including major NIH awards
60+
countries with global partnerships as part of faculty-led projects
100+
scientific publications and book chapters from faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and PhD students
100+
students enrolled across five programs, with 54 graduating students in FY 2025
DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Professors Sarah Baird and Jennifer Seager continued work on the Global Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE), the largest global study on adolescence. Dr. Baird also co-chaired the second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, launched in FY2025, along with several other publications. This work has been covered by National Geographic, Naked Scientist, and The Guardian.
Dr. Nirbhay Kumar was awarded a new NIH R01 grant ($3.9M) to support the development of novel malaria vaccine strategies targeting multiple stages and species of Plasmodium. Together with Postdoctoral student Yi Cao and PhD students Clifford Hayashi and Cynthia Lorang, Dr. Kumar published a number of related high-impact papers.
Dr. Daniel Chen, with co-investigators Wendy Ellis and Uriyoan Colon-Ramos, were awarded $1.65M from Novo Nordisk to connect food systems to health equity in Washington, DC’s Wards 7 & 8. Dr. Colon-Ramos and colleagues also published on interconnected drivers of sugary drinks and water consumption in D.C. and how to leverage systems science to work with independently-owned restaurants to increase access to healthful foods.