A million-dollar gift to Yale School of Medicine (YSM) from Dr. Nathaniel Brown establishes the Global Biomedical Leaders Fund as a source of reliable supplemental funding for the long-established Yale Partnerships for Global Health (YPGH), which brings talented early-career MD and PhD trainees from developing countries to New Haven for 3-12 months’ training in leading-edge clinical and basic research. The YPGH trainees have pre-arranged sponsors in their home countries, and 95% have returned to their countries, accelerating the important ongoing globalization of medical research. YPGH trainees receive intensive mentorship from experts and other researchers at YSM and Yale School of Public Health and have access to labs and additional courses if needed.
Dr. Brown was an MB&B major in the Yale College Class of 1970. He received his MD from Georgetown School of Medicine and completed his Pediatric internship and residency at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He then returned to Yale for a 4-year clinical and research fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases under Prof. George Miller (1978 to 1982). He credits his fellowship training for providing the critical thinking and research skills needed for success in academia and industry. Dr. Brown, now retired, was involved in laboratory research in viral pathogenesis and globalized clinical development of innovative antiviral medicines for deadly chronic viral infections - hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Program director Dr. Elijah Paintsil said, “We use this term ‘global’ in its widest sense. It doesn’t necessarily matter where your research is occurring. We want to give opportunities to trainees from countries where they don’t have the resources for research training.”
Dr. Paintsil and other faculty from the section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health will lead the growing program and help build up research capacity globally.
To donate and help expand the program’s reach, please contact Zsuzsanna Somogyi at zsuzsanna.somogyi@yale.edu.