Interdisciplinary Global Health Scholars Program

Overview

Global health is a relatively new concept emerging two decades to describe health problems, issues, and concerns that transcend national boundaries and which may be influences by circumstances or experiences in other countries which are best addressed by cooperative actions and solutions (Institute of Medicine, USA 1997).

Great potential exists to advance a cohesive program which utilizes global health as a common thread to demonstrate our capacity for interdisciplinarity as the norm in research, education and outreach. A collaborative push on campus has been brewing for the past two with significant support from multiple campus levels and diverse locations including ACES, the College of Medicine, the Center for African Studies, the Center for Global Studies, Vet-Med, College of Engineering, and even community partners, such as the University YMCA. Many of these efforts converged in early 2014 around the existing partnership between Illinois and Njala University in Sierra Leone.

OverviewMap

Introduction to the IGHS Program (3hrs)
Coming Fall 2017! 

The introductory course serves to introduce students to the many different disciplinary perspectives in the field of Global Health.  Starting out with a global survey, students will then focus-in on problems specific to Sierra Leone and West Africa as a whole.  This foundational course will provide the knowledge and training necessary to complete the upper-level courses, even if students do not have training in those disciplines.

ANSC 499-GM Tropical Epidemiology (3hrs)
Enrollment open for Fall 2016!

Tropical Epidemiology introduces the basic concepts and methods of epidemiology and bio-statistics through the lens of tropical medicine. This class focuses primarily on understanding current health issues in the tropics and applying epidemiological approaches to investigation, control, and prevention of these current health issues including Malaria, Lassa fever, HIV, and nutritional challenges among others.

ENG 298-JA Intro to Sustainable Engineering (3hrs, 1st 8wks)
Available January 2017! Contact Dr. Jenny Amos for enrollment information for Spring 2017.

Understanding design for international standards, defining needs of a community, use of locally available materials, low-tech but game-changing innovations, sustainability concerns in resource-limited settings, and involving stakeholders and engaging the community. Students will discuss ethical, social, and political concerns as part of the design process.

ACES 298 Food Security in Resource-Limited Settings (3hrs, 2nd 8wks)
Starting March 2017! 

Analyzing historical nutritional intervention strategies. Students will understand prevalence of undernourishment and observe the role of regional diets.

Program Faculty


     Prof. Gay Miller              Prof. Jenny Amos        Prof. Alex Winter-Nelson