NEW YORK, NY – June 30, 2006 – The Global Health Center (GHC) at Mount Sinai has received a $1 million dollar grant from the Mulago Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to humanitarian aid. Distributed over a three-year period, the grant will support faculty and finance curriculum development, international research and trips to developing countries. The grant will also help build partnerships with non-governmental organizations such as UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee, and Physicians for Human Rights.
Created in 2005 by David Muller, MD, Dean of Medical Education, Ramon Murphy, MD, MPH, Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Philip J. Landrigan, MD, Professor and Chair of Community and Preventive Medicine and of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai, the GHC has propelled the study of global health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM). The mission of the GHC is to educate medical students about diseases common to the developing world and train them with the skills needed to practice in underserved and limited resource settings. The creation of the program was in response to the huge demand at Mount Sinai for a more coordinated approach to teaching and training students in international medicine.
"The support from the Mulago Foundation is a critical first step in establishing Mount Sinai's Global Health Center as a leader among academic medical centers," says Dr. Muller. "Humanitarian medicine is one of the founding premises of Mount Sinai. Students and faculty travel the world on their own to pursue humanitarian health efforts."
Mount Sinai students and residents will learn about malaria and other aspects of tropical medicine. They will receive training in obtaining clean water, getting around countries that lack sophisticated transportation, assessing disaster areas and employing appropriate interventions quickly, and assisting in refugee and other humanitarian crises.
MSSM Faculty members that will assist in core curriculum development of GHC are Nils Hennig, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics; Jonathan Ripp, MD, Instructor in Medicine; Natasha Anandaraja, MD, Instructor in Pediatrics; and Sigrid Hahn, MD, Clinical Instructor in Emergency Medicine.
"As the need for basic medical care in developing countries increases, so does the need for physicians who are trained in global health, says Dr. Ripp. "Residents usually only train within the confines of their specialty but this award will help further their curiosity and interest in global health."
The Mount Sinai Medical Center
The Mount Sinai Hospital
The Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation's oldest, largest and most-respected voluntary hospitals. Founded in 1852, Mount Sinai today is a 1,171-bed tertiary-care teaching facility that is internationally-acclaimed for excellence in clinical care.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Located in Manhattan, Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized for ground-breaking clinical and basic-science research, and innovative approaches to medical education. Through the Mount Sinai Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Mount Sinai trains biomedical researchers with an emphasis on the rapid translation of discoveries of basic research into new techniques for fighting disease. One indication of Mount Sinai's leadership in scientific investigation is its receipt during fiscal year 2005 of $174.1 million in research support from the NIH. Mount Sinai School of Medicine is also known for unique educational programs such as the Humanities in Medicine program, which creates opportunities for liberal arts students to pursue medical school, and instructional innovations like The Morchand Center, the nation's largest program teaching students and physicians with "standardized patients" to become not only highly skilled, but compassionate caregivers. Long dedicated to improving its community, the School extends its boundaries to work with East Harlem and surrounding communities to provide access to health care and educational programs to at-risk populations.