University of Maryland School of Medicine Launches Global Health Alliance

Global health research in U.S. academic medical centers is facing dire threats with proposed cuts to the federal budget that would reduce funding for global health programs by 62 percent, from $10 billion to $3.8 billion. Cuts include reducing funding for the President’s Malaria Initiative by nearly 45 percent, zeroing out U.S. funding for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which received $300 million this year, as well as discontinuing $1.7 billion annually for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.

In an effort to strengthen its defenses against these budget cuts and build collaborations across its campus, the University of Maryland School of Medicine has formed a new partnership joining its global health leaders. The new University of Maryland School of Medicine Global Health Alliance (UMGHA) will safeguard the foundation that exists and further support our world-class clinicians and researchers from our institution to continue solving generational health challenges throughout Baltimore, the country, and worldwide.

UMGHA will include faculty involved in global health research and clinical care in UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) and the Institute of Human Virology (IHV). It will also include faculty from the Departments of Surgery, Epidemiology and Public Health, Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Pediatrics, and others that engage in global health efforts.

The past twenty years of global health have been marked by extraordinary global progress including halving child deaths, significantly reducing deaths from deadly infectious diseases, and contributing to the rise of hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. CVD researchers helped develop, test, and gain licensure for vaccines against critical emerging diseases such as Ebola, Zika, cholera, and typhoid. They are also currently helping to develop and test new malaria vaccines and treatments. The IHV has provided HIV treatment to 9 million people across 10 countries in Africa and the Caribbean and led the implementation and scale-up of evidence-based interventions such as medications for opioid use disorder in Kenya, cancer screening and management in Nigeria, and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis including long-acting injectable prophylaxis in Zambia.

Additionally, the Department of Surgery and the University of Maryland’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center’s involvement in Haiti’s earthquake relief efforts further exemplifies the critical role UMSOM plays in global surgery and disaster response which now include their current work in building trauma care capacity in Burkina Faso.  The School is also proud to recognize efforts of individual faculty who are making a tangible difference in global health through volunteering their time and expertise to share clinical skills and knowledge with healthcare teams abroad.  Our undergraduate medical education program offers international electives in Kenya, Rwanda, and Zambia that provide future physicians with unique, transformative experiences and a deeper understanding of medicine in a globalized world.

UMGHA will be led by Man Charurat, PhD, who is the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Division Director of Epidemiology and Prevention at the IHV, and Division Director of Global Health Sciences in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, and Meagan Fitzpatrick, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at CVD.  They will be guided and supported by a Steering Committee consisting of representatives from departments and centers/institutes with active projects or expanding interests in global health.

“The School of Medicine faculty already have an impressive network of global partners, with some relationships built over decades", said Dr. Fitzpatrick. "By establishing avenues within our university for sharing knowledge and experiences, the Global Health Alliance will enable us to strengthen those networks and meet the challenges of the current moment.”

The alliance will serve as our platform to connect, scale, and coordinate this impact by bringing together students, faculty, departments, centers/institutes engaged in global research, clinical care, and education/training together with partner institutions in the Global South with the following aims:

• Ensure that UMSOM remains a leader in high-impact global health innovations
• Enhance our tripartite mission – research, clinical care, and education globally
• Support the next generation of global health leaders.

“The Global Health Alliance is a bold commitment to harnessing our collective expertise, partnerships, and innovation to improve the human condition worldwide," said Dr. Charurat. "It represents our belief that global challenges demand global solutions, rooted in collaboration and impact.”

As global health continues to evolve, its viability depends on cross-disciplinary approaches that strengthen partnerships with institutions to address chronic disease, mental health, climate impacts, and health systems—all areas of UMSOM strength. 

“The Global Health Alliance will enhance our current efforts to train, expand health care access and improve collaborative research internationally," said Shyam Kottilil, MD. PhD, said Professor of Medicine and Interim Director of the IHV. "Under the leadership of Drs. Charurat and Fitzpatrick, Global Health Alliance will be an exciting new venture that brings together two great institutes of UMSOM, namely IHV and CVD.”

UMSOM Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, who is also Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, added, “We need to continue to be a leader on the global health front, helping to develop new solutions for generational health challenges like new emerging pathogens that put us at risk for the next pandemic. This new global health alliance emphasizes our commitment to our mission to serve not just those in our local communities but to those countries throughout the world without access to basic health services.”

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

The University of Maryland School of Medicine, established in 1807 as the first public medical school in the U.S., continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world.  The School has nearly $500 million total research funding, 46 departments, centers, and institutes, more than 2,200 student trainees and over 3,000 faculty members, including notable members of the National Academy of Medicine.  As the largest public medical school in the DC/MD/VA region, faculty-physicians are working to help patients manage chronic diseases like obesity, cancer, heart disease and addiction, while also working on cutting-edge research to address the most critical generational health challenges. In 2024, the School ranked #12 among public medical schools and #27 among all medical schools for R&D expenditures by the National Science Foundation. With a $1.3 billion total operating budget, the School partners with the University of Maryland Medical Center to serve nearly 2 million patients annually.  The School's global reach extends around the world with research and treatment facilities in 33 countries.  In Maryland, the School of Medicine is spearheading new initiatives in AI and health computing and partnering with the University of Maryland BioPark to develop new medical technologies and bioengineering ventures. For more information, visit medschool.umaryland.edu.