Department of Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine (DEPM)

International Health Division (IHD) and the GHRC at UMB
Howard Hall
660 West Redwood Street, Room 100B
University of Maryland Baltimore
Baltimore, MD 21201

History and Description of Activities

The IHD is located in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine ( DEPM) and conducts multidisciplinary research and training in developing countries in collaboration with local scientists and with colleagues on the UMB campus and other academic institutions in the United States and overseas.

The IHD was established in 1950 and evolved from the University of Maryland International Health Program that was instrumental in early work with rickettsia, typhoid, and malaria, and maintained a permanent overseas laboratory in Pakistan. Following research in Pakistan, IHD obtained a grant from USAID to assess the burden of disease from schistosomiasis in Egypt, which lead to the establishment of an office in Cairo and research in the areas of infectious disease, cancer, smoking as well as training grants in infectious disease, injury prevention and bioethics. Current activities also include a Health Research Ethics Training Initiative in Egypt (HRETIE). This project is sponsored by the Fogarty International Center, NIH and offers research support and Masters training. Newly added is the Middle East Research Ethics Training Initiative (MERETI). Some of these activities have also expanded to include Iraq.

The IHD and DEPM also have a long-standing relationship with the Mahidol School of Tropical Medicine in Bangkok and ongoing research collaborations are anticipated in dengue and malaria, as well as disaster management. Collaborations are also currently underway with Vietnam, Brazil, China, India and Bengladesh.

Finally, IHD has an ongoing collaboration with the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) in the State of Maryland to assess cancer screening and underserved immigrant and vulnerable populations.

Details about the IHD can be found at: http://medschool.umaryland.edu/Epidemiology/div_international.asp.

Division of Foodborne and Emerging Pathogens

Investigators are involved in a number of laboratory-based collaborations with international investigators in infectious diseases such as V. Cholerae Infections in Bangladesh, and Lima, and funding in Emerging Infections training grant in Tbilisi. Active collaborations with the Republic of Georgia include molecular epidemiologic studies of plague and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. Divisional faculty have established collaborations in Zambia working on Salmonella and other enteric pathogens in high-prevalence HIV populations in Lusaka, Zimbabwe, Haiti and Lima.

For more information, visit their website at http://medschool.umaryland.edu/Epidemiology/div_path.asp.

Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics

The informatics/telemedicine division has collaborations with academic centers in St. Petersburg, Russia, and India to provide advanced training in Health Informatics.

Other International activities can be found throughout the various DEPM including Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology Fur further details about DEPM faculty and their interest see http://medschool.umaryland.edu/Epidemiology/faculty.asp.

Field Experience Opportunities

Opportunities for graduate and medical students at SOM can be found throughout DEPM and can be used for the MPH GH track capstone.

Other Links:

• International organizations for students
• Travel Awards
• DEPM Faculty interested in GH