Global Health Education Day Highlights Diverse Healthcare Systems and Training Opportunities

June 2026

By Meg Kennedy

Faculty, students, residents, fellows and community partners from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Chicago celebrated global health, education and outreach during the 7th annual Global Health Education Day hosted by the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health Center for Global Health Education (CGHE).

Held in the Lurie Medical Research Center on May 13, the event featured poster presentations and two keynote addresses with opening remarks by Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, associate professor of Hospital Medicine and Medical Education and co-director of CGHE.

Attendees listen to a presentation in the Ryan Family Atrium Ashti Doobay-Persaud, MD, welcomes attendees to Global Health Education Day during her opening remarks in Ryan Family Atrium. Photo: Randy Belice

“Today is a celebration of the vibrant and diverse work being done across our community, and an opportunity to learn from one another as we continue to strengthen and grow this field together,” Doobay-Persaud said. “As the landscape of global health continues to evolve, we are seeing new approaches to partnership, education and research emerge —approaches that emphasize equity, sustainability, interdisciplinary collaboration and community engagement. The range of perspectives, experiences and projects represented here reflects both the depth of commitment and the collaborative spirit that define global health work.”

Global health collaborators presented at the Havey Institute for Global Health Center for Global Health Education’s annual Global Health Education Day at the Lurie Medical Research Center on May 13. Photo: Randy Belice

Following the welcome address was a poster session that featured 27 posters on projects relevant to global health from students, trainees and faculty members. Topics ranged from breast cancer survivorship to hearing healthcare for deaf refugee children.

Wagaki Gicheru, MBChB, chief principal lecturer and head of e-learning at Kenya Medical Training College in Nairobi, Kenya, delivered the keynote address, “Global Health Education at Kenya Medical Training College.”

Gicheru discussed global health workforce shortages and the importance of meeting the needs of the health market, citing a projected shortfall of 11 million healthcare workers by 2030.

“Global health is about issues that are transnational that affect different countries,” Gicheru said. “One thing that affects our country and the world, including the U.S., is [global health] workforce shortages. It is a prominent issue on the global front.”

Gicheru went on to detail how training can improve health systems and shared an anecdote about her mother’s journey in the medical field. In 1961, due to a lack of training opportunities, her mother was sent from Kenya to the U.K. to study midwifery. Since then, training has progressed significantly and nurses can now be trained in Kenya, which Gicheru notes brings nursing education full circle.

“We're not only expanding our capacity in Kenya, but the capacity for everyone else,” Gicheru said.

Wagaki Gicheru, MBChB, from Kenya Medical Training College, discusses global health training and initiatives during her keynote address in Baldwin Auditorium. Photo: Randy Belice

Jennifer Morgan, MD, assistant professor of hematology, oncology and transplantation at the University of Minnesota, delivered the keynote, “Tackling Oncology Care in East Africa Through Partnership.”

Morgan discussed her path in global oncology, specifically noting her training in global health at Feinberg as a McGaw Global Health Clinical Scholar and her work in breast cancer research in Kenya. She highlighted that learning to work with different people builds varied experiences and ultimately fosters critical partnerships.

“Understand the constraints of a different healthcare system and understand how those systems work,” Morgan said.

While at the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare consortium in Kenya, Morgan and her team had an objective to improve clinical care, education, training and cancer research, and sought to determine how to implement those goals at a community level. She emphasized the importance of acknowledging that locals are experts in their own healthcare system, and that health is a human right regardless of your location.

“Where you live should not determine if you live or die,” Morgan said.

Jennifer Morgan, MD, from the University of Minnesota, discusses global oncology and health systems during her keynote address in Baldwin Auditorium. Photo: Randy Belice

Gicheru and Morgan both highlighted the importance of understanding different health systems within the global health sphere.

The event concluded in the Ryan Family Atrium with an awards ceremony and closing reception, including the McGaw Global Health Clinical Scholars Program graduation ceremony and the announcement of the poster presentation award winners. Doobay-Persaud was joined by William Leonard, PhD, Watkins Family Professor of Global Health in the Department of Anthropology and co-director of the Center for Global Health Education, to present certificates to the recipients.

Satyam Singh, a student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, was awarded the top prize in the student/trainee category for the poster, “Global Patterns in Child Supervision and Pediatric Burn Outcomes: A Multinational WHO Burn Registry Analysis.”

Lacy Simons, MPH, senior researcher in the Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution at the Havey Institute for Global Health, won in the faculty/staff category for her poster, “Expanding Infrastructure for Genomic Surveillance and Bioinformatics in West Africa.”

The event also recognized Rishi Agrawal, MD, MPH, and Noelle Sullivan, PhD, this year’s Outstanding Educators of the Year. Agrawal is a professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hospital-Based Medicine at Feinberg and Sullivan is director of the Program in Global Health Studies in the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

“The purpose of the Outstanding Educator of the Year Award is to recognize outstanding global health educators for their contributions across Northwestern University’s Chicago and Evanston campuses,” Leonard said. “This award honors individuals who have provided exceptional support for the development and advancement of teaching and learning in global health.”

CGHE hosts Global Health Education Day annually to acknowledge students, trainees, faculty and staff who work in global health.

Poster winners Satyam Singh, Lacy Simons, Emmanuel Iroboudu Okpetu and Nicole Schneider join Outstanding Educator of the Year Rishi Agrawal, MD, MPH, and CGHE co-directors Ashti Doobay-Persaud and William Leonard. Photo: Randy Belice

Poster Presentation Winners

Satyam Singh – Global Patterns in Child Supervision and Pediatric Burn Outcomes: A Multinational WHO Burn Registry Analysis (Poster #21, Student/Trainee)

Lacy Simons – Expanding Infrastructure for Genomic Surveillance and Bioinformatics in West Africa (Poster #12, Faculty/Staff)

Honorable Mentions

Emmanuel Iroboudu Okpetu – Determinants and Implementation of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Screening by Nonphysician Health Workers in Nigeria: A Mixed-Methods Study (Poster #6, Student/Trainee)

Nicole Schneider – Bright IDEAS Problem-Solving Skills Training for Uganda Professionals Caring for Pediatrics with Cancer: A Pilot Study (Poster #14, Faculty/Staff)