The Center for Global Public Health (CGPH) at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health (SPH) has established, through the generous sponsorship of the Morris Family Fund, the Morris Fellowship for the Advancement of Public Health in India. This Fellowship enables four junior faculty from universities in India to study at UC Berkeley and conduct independent research alongside UC Berkeley’s global public health faculty, to address some of the toughest population health challenges in the country’s poorest states. One goal of the fellowship is to build a dialogue between UC Berkeley and university partners in India; and to work with our colleagues to build long-term capacity to address public health education and capacity in both countries.
Fellowship details
In partnership with the leading public universities in India, 4 students will spend six months in Berkeley, California to take public health courses and conduct an individual research project. Fellowships will be selected via a competitive evaluation process. Fellowship awards include:
- A monthly stipend of $3,000/month for six months to cover rent and living expenses*
- UC Berkeley tuition fees of up to $3,000 ($750/unit, =~4 units)
- Berkeley campus registration fees including health care insurance up to $2070
- Roundtrip airfare of up to $1,500 and visa fees
- Conference stipend up to $1,000
* Note: Housing and meals will not be arranged by CGPH
Research component
Applicants for the fellowship need to demonstrate that they have a research plan addressing a public health challenge in India, preferably coming with their own public health data set to analyze while at UC Berkeley. While the plan can be conducted independently, applicants should seek to collaborate and create dialogue with UC Berkeley faculty, researchers, and students, around their area of work as well as take advantage of other Bay Area universities and resources (i.e., UCSF, UC Davis, Stanford University, etc.). Collaborative research outputs are encouraged. Areas of research that are covered by the Fellowship include public health areas at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health including Epidemiology, Infectious Disease and Vaccinology, Biostatistics, Community Health Sciences (including Public Health Nutrition, Maternal Child Health, and Health and Social Behavior), and Health Policy and Management. We encourage public health projects that require collaboration with other units at UC Berkeley (i.e., engineering, education, data science, city and urban planning, economics, business, law, etc.).
Each Fellow should also have a mentor/supervisor at their own University, who will help oversee their work and provide a letter of support. Although it is not necessary to identify a UC Berkeley faculty supervisor for the application, it is strongly encouraged. Applicants may wish to make connections with the appropriate UC Berkeley faculty/researchers prior to their application to Berkeley. Faculty in the UC Berkeley School of Public Health with existing research collaborations and and partnerships in India include (but are not limited to): Professors Lee Riley (IDV), Stefano Bertozzi (HPM), Art Reingold (Epi), Dilys Walker (Adjunct, MCH), , Ali Minnis (Adjunct, MCH), Lia Fernald (Nutrition), Karen Sokol-Gutierrez, Jack Colford (Epi), Julia Walsh (Adjunct, MCH), etc. CGPH (SPH) also work closely with UCSF Global Health Sciences, where many faculty have existing research collaboration in India.
Education component
This fellowship was created in part to develop academic collaboration between UC Berkeley and international institutions, not only for research but for education as well. Besides taking classes at UC Berkeley, the junior faculty member should also have an interest in improving public health education capacity in India, especially as it pertains to building and improving public health programs at their home university.
The Center for Global Public Health can work with Fellows to explore challenges and opportunities to do so; and also help identify ways for longer-term collaborative efforts after Fellows have returned back to their home institution at the end of the Fellowship. Fellows will each be expected to deliver one seminar to the UC Berkeley community as part of the the Center for Global Public Health seminar series in Spring 2018.
Eligibility
Applicants must be a current junior faculty who is a citizen of India, working at an Indian university to advance public health in India.
Important note: To receive the award, fellows must be available to begin classes at the start of UC Berkeley’s 2018 Fall semester in August 2018. Fellows must be able to show that they will return back to their junior faculty positions at their home institution at the end of the Fellowship.
Application Requirements
Please email the following application materials as a single PDF or Word file (PDF preferred) to cgph@berkeley.edu prior to December 15, 2017. Fellows will be notified prior to January 15, 2018.
1. Research project proposal
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2-page short research project proposal that contains:
- Project title
- Public health aims of research – including relevant background information and a brief description of the significance of the public health problem
- Specific aims and/or hypotheses
- Methods
- Anticipated results/conclusions/public health significance
2. Personal Statement
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1-page statement (500 words or less) on your desired research impact and goals to improve public health education at your University
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Please include research collaborators and partnering institutions for your research, as well as the individuals and organizations you seek to collaborate with while at UC Berkeley
3. Curriculum Vitae or Resume
Letters of Reference
One signed letter of support from a faculty supervisor or university mentor at your home university is required. In addition, you should have a letter from your university administration specifying that you will return to your faculty position upon finishing the fellowship. Mentors can email their letters of support separately and confidentially to cgph@berkeley.edu prior to the deadline, or applicants may include the letters as separate PDF documents as part of their application.
Questions
For general questions about the UC Berkeley Morris Fellowship for the Advancement of Public Health in India, please email cgph@berkeley.edu.
About the UC Berkeley Center for Global Public Health (SPH)
The Center for Global Public Health, based at the School of Public Health, is a platform for global health at UC Berkeley. We develop and oversee global health education programs for SPH, and through our fellowship programs seek to offer experiential learning opportunities for UC Berkeley students and international visiting students and scholars with an interest in global public health. CGPH supports large global health research initiatives at UC Berkeley and in the Bay Area. We are also engaged in activities bringing together the Bay Area global health community through symposia, seminars, workshops, and social events throughout the year.