Students who participate in NYU Grossman School of Medicine's International Health Program complete a scholarly project based on their research. All first-year students make an academic poster to share with faculty and peers during NYU Grossman School of Medicine's International Health Week. You work with a mentor to ensure that it represents the six to eight weeks of research. You may also work on articles or abstracts, and those of high quality may be published at an academic conference.

Projects and Sites for Global Health Research

The following locations have hosted NYU Grossman School of Medicine students whose work at these sites has been presented or published.

Accra, Ghana

NYU Grossman School of Medicine has a strong relationship with the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra and the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry. Various departments offer different research opportunities for students.

• Erica Goldstein (2018). Abstract title: Female Sexual Dysfunction: Prevalence and Risk in Ghana. Accepted for poster presentation at the Physicians for Human Rights National Student Conference on November 7, 2015, at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
• Leland Soieffer (2018). Abstract title: Kumawu Polyclinic: A Needs Assessment of a District Facility in Ghana. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.
• Polina Krass (2016). Abstract title: Non-Compliance with Medications Among Hypertensives in Ghana. Abstract accepted at Consortium of Universities in Global Health Conference in Washington, DC, May 9–12, 2014.

Ladakh, India

Richard Novick, MD, a microbiologist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, has a long-standing relationship with Tsering Norboo, MD, a family medicine doctor in Ladakh, India. Dr. Norboo has worked for many years to improve and increase the access to healthcare in this remote community in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.

• Monica Chan (2018), Matthew Dai (2018), and William Tsai (2018). Abstract title: Hypertension Prevalence in Zanskar, India: A Study to Guide Future Interventions in Rural Health Clinics. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.

Otavalo, Ecuador

Working through the Yanapuma Foundation, this project collaborates with the Jambi Huasi clinic. The clinic provides a unique combination of traditional Andean medicine and Western medicine to the local population.

• Ignacio Calles (2018). Abstract title: Integrating Western and Indigenous Medicine in Otavalo, Ecuador. Accepted for poster presentation at the Latino Medical Student Association National Conference in Pomona, CA, April 7–10, 2016.

Atahualpa, Ecuador

The Atahualpa Project is an ongoing population-based study led by Oscar del Brutto, MD, in Atahualpa, Ecuador. The study is evaluating the presence of cardiovascular risk factors and their impact on the burden of stroke and ischemic heart disease in rural coastal Ecuador.  

• Nathan King (2016) and Lauren Sullivan (2016) have contributed to five publications from their work with Dr. Del Brutto in Atahualpa, Ecuador: Ankle–Brachial Index Determination for Assessment of Intracranial Atherosclerosis, International Journal of Cardiology; The Burden of Diabetes-Related Foot Disorders in Community-Dwellers Living in Rural Ecuador: Results of the Atahualpa Project, The Foot; Calcifications in the Carotid Siphon Inversely Associate with Cognitive Performance in Stroke-Free Community Dwellers Living in Rural Ecuador (The Atahualpa Project), International Journal of Stroke; Population-Based Study of Alcoholic Cerebellar Degeneration: The Atahualpa Project, Journal of the Neurological Sciences; Years of Drinking But Not the Amount of Alcohol Intake Contribute to the Association Between Alcoholic Cerebellar Degeneration and Worse Cognitive Performance. A Population-Based Study, The Cerebellum.
• Jung-eun Ha (2015) and Jennifer Gillman (2015) have contributed to three articles published with Dr. Del Brutto, including Dietary Fish Intake and Sleep Quality: A Population-Based Study, Sleep Medicine; Oily Fish Consumption Is Inversely Correlated with Cerebral Microbleeds in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Results from the Atahualpa Project, Aging Clinical and Experimental Research; and Dietary Oily Fish Intake and Blood Pressure Levels: A Population-Based Study, Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

Santander, Spain

Through a generous grant from Santander Bank, NYU Grossman School of Medicine students have been able to participate in a Spanish language and research immersion program with the Comillas Foundation in Santander, Spain. Students work with physicians and faculty at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander and study Spanish language and culture with educators at the Comillas Foundation.

• Salma Adam (2018) and Jessica Perfetto (2018). Abstract title: Multicentric Study of Immunological Markers Predictive of Infection Post-Renal Transplant. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.
• Rhodes Horace Hambrecht (2018). Abstract title: Modulation of Gene Expression in P. aeruginosa to Sub-Inhibitory Concentrations of Imipenem. Poster presented at the Medical Society of the State of New York Symposium in New York, April 15, 2016.

Program for Survivors of Torture, NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue

The Program for Survivors of Torture rebuilds the lives of people who have been tortured, persecuted, or displaced by war. Since its inception in 1995, the program has provided comprehensive medical and mental healthcare, as well as social and legal services, to more than 3,500 survivors and their family members from more than 100 countries. In collaboration with NYU Langone physicians, students may engage in research with this patient population.

• Amelie Pham (2016). Abstract title: Gynecologic Needs Among a Population of Survivors of Torture in New York City. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.
• Polina Krass (2016). Abstract title: Primary Care Screening Methods and Outcomes Among Asylum Seekers in New York City. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.

The following are additional student publications and conference presentations:

• David Warshaw (2018). Abstract title: Jungle Mamas: Community Health Education, Maternal and Infant Mortality in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Accepted for poster presentation at the Physicians for Human Rights National Student Conference on November 7, 2015, at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
• Melany Man Hsuan Su (2018). Abstract title: Physician Influence on the Signing of Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders in Surgical Intensive Care Units in Taiwan. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.
• Thomas Lee (2016). Abstract title: The Impact of Parental Obesity on Pediatric Malnutrition in Rural Uganda, a Household Survey. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.
• Benjamin Noor (2018). Abstract title: Primary CNS Lymphoma in the Immunocompetent Chinese Patients and the Association with Chronic Hepatitis B. Presented at the Consortium of Universities in Global Health Annual Conference in San Francisco, April 7–11, 2016.
• Sean O’Rourke (2014). The Usual Suspects in Sudden Cardiac Death of the Young: A Focus on Inherited Arrhythmogenic Diseases, Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy; Novel Insight into the Natural History of Short QT Syndrome, Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
• Emi Okamoto (2014) and Jacqueline Sherbuk (2014). Contributed to article Hyperendemic Chagas Disease and the Unmet Need for Pacemakers in the Bolivian Chaco, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.