School of Medicine
Description of Activities
The CVD is headed by Dr. Mike Levine and has earned an international reputation for genetically engineering and testing vaccines against cholera and typhoid as well as malaria, and has strong programs in malaria immunology, drug resistance and molecular epidemiology. Since its inception, the CVD has had international research and field trials as a major component of its research portfolio, with a long-standing field and laboratory research program in Chile, large malaria research programs in Mali and Malawi, and field research activities in Thailand, Indonesia, Peru, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Tanzania. The center has 2 facilities in Satiago, Chili and Mali West Africa (http://medschool.umaryland.edu/CVD/facilities.asp). The CVD has extensive NIH and Gates Foundation funding for vaccine development, including specific Gates funding for development of a "stealth" measles vaccine, a training grant, a vaccinology training and research grants for malaria.
International Health Division (IHD)
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).
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.
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Department of Pediatrics: The Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics has strong international linkages, with responsibility for ongoing collaborations/consultations with USAID, WHO and PAHO. Projects include studies of neonatal mortality due to sepsis in India.
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National Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Services, Department of Surgery, Division of Emergency Medicine, and DEPM: UMB is home to the National Study Center for Trauma and Emergency Medical Services, a congressionally chartered research institute focusing on injury prevention and development of emergency medical service systems. Faculty in the National Study Center hold appointments in the School of Medicine’s Departments of Surgery and Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine. The National Study Center has long had a history of international collaboration. Most recently, the center has been involved in the development of injury training programs in association with the Ministry of Health and major trauma centers in Egypt, in conjunction with our IHD Egypt program and Iraq.
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The Office of Student Research (ORS) within the Dean’s Office, provides training and research opportunities for medical students, and faculty, undergraduate and graduate students. Under Dr.Warnick's (Professor and Assistant Dean) leadership, the OSR has established and directed the medical student (1982) and undergraduate (1991) summer research programs (NIH-supported) at UMB/UMSOM and the undergraduate and medical student international research programs (FIC) since their inception (1994). The office has opportunities for research collaborations in Africa (Ghana and Nigeria), South America (Brazil and Chile), China (Beijing), Israel (Be'er Sheeva and Petach Tikvah) and the Nethrlands (Rotterdam) in the fields of cancer, ethics, cardiovascular, drug development, epidemiology, immunology, neuroscience and pediatrics. The office has placed more than 40 medical students and 120 undergraduates for externships abroad. The collaborations have been developed through both personal contacts and existing international programs at UMB.
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Institute of Human Virology (IHV) founded by Drs. Gallo, Blattner, and Redfield, is one of the premier virology institutes in the world. While it is administratively part of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, rather than UMB, the IHV is physically located on the UMB campus, and all key personnel hold academic appointments in the UMB School of Medicine. The Institute research efforts are focused in the area of chronic human viral infection and disease. At present, more than 75 percent of the Institute's clinical and research effort is targeted at HIV infection, but also includes the Hepatitis C virus, herpes viruses and cancer research. IVH has funding form several sources including funding form the Presidents Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and a grant from CDC to develop HIV treatment centers in Nigeria. IHV also provides short term and long-term training to countries in the Caribbean, Brazil, and Nigeria through an AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) from Fogarty. The underlying objective of this latter program is to build in-country capacity to better deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Training takes place in the developing countries and at DEPM at UMB. The IHV/UMB entertains applications from national AIDS programs, Ministries of Health, and public, educational, and research organizations in the Caribbean, Brazil and Nigeria. The IHV collaborates with the dental school and is active in the training of fellows and residents at UMB, many of who become involved in international research during their training. IVH has collaborations in 36 countries and 109 sites (http://www.ihv.org/collaboration/collaboration_map/).
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Universities Allied for Essential Medicine
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Contact for UMB Medical School: Sheela Maru
Field Experience Opportunities
Opportunities for graduate and medical students can be found throughout SOM.
The Division of Epidemiology and Prevention of the Institute of Human Virology is accepting applications for Summer Research Rotations in Nigeria. The positions are funded through the Fogarty AIDS International Research Training Program (AITRP) grant. Contact Daphene Altema at (410) 706-0353 or altema@umbi.umd.edu.
Furthermore, the Office of Student Research has an extensive list of foreign sites and available projects. Other countries not listed on the website include Mexico, parts of Latin America and the Carribeans, South Africa and Nigeria. Students interested in these field opportunities should contact Dean Jordan Warnick.
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