Annual Report Final Draft

USF Health
International

MAKING LIFE BETTER—GLOBALLY

2020-2021 ANNUAL REPORT

Table of Contents

A Message From Dr. Lynette Menezes...................................................3
Our Work Goes On...................................................................................4
A New Partnership Develops.................................................................. 5
Research Never Stops..........................................................................6-7
A New Spin On Study Abroad..............................................................8-9
Student Research Goes Virtual.............................................................10
Presenting At USF Health Research Day..............................................1.1
Global is Local........................................................................................1. 2
Local is Global........................................................................................1. 3
Peer Connections...Student to student conversations.......................14
In Their Words.........................................................................................15
Global Emerging Diseases Institute (GEDI).........................................1. 6
USF Health Lead Innovative 3-D Printing To Fight COVID-19............1..7
Global Virus Network (GVN)..................................................................1. 8
USF Institute On Microbiomes...............................................................19
Making A Difference..........................................................................2. 0-21
Interprofessional Education At USF.....................................................2. 2
Leading Peace Corps Coverdell For the State.....................................23
Looking Towards the Future.................................................................24

A Message From
Dr. Lynette Menezes

The past year has been tumultuous for global programs like it has been for every sector, industry,
and community around the world. Each time we saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the journey
seemed endless. Despite the many setbacks, our friendships with committed partners remained
strong—reimagining the impossible to make it possible. We forged ahead welcoming 6 new
partners, building new friendships and bringing our total collaborations to 92 institutions in 38
countries. We invented new ways to collaborate by creating a virtual platform to host our global
health conversation series with speakers from four continents sharing knowledge to participants
around the world, overcoming the challenges of time and space to stay connected. Faculty from our
College of Nursing inaugurated three virtual study abroad programs. USF Health students built
peer-to-peer connections organizing and participating in conversations with health profession
students in Belize, Colombia, Japan, Mexico, and Spain and spearheaded a virtual medical
language exchange program. We remain grateful to our many partners who graciously hosted
twenty students for virtual global health research and educational experiences. Our public health
faculty have been making a difference through their Latin Health initiative in Ecuador, Panama, and
the United States.

The pandemic reaffirmed the premise that “global is local and local is global”. Locally, alongside our
county health departments’ leadership, our global health faculty led the public health response for
the University and the Tampa Bay community, assisting with exposure assessments and contact
tracing, conducting surveillance testing and predictive modeling. We educated the community with
emerging knowledge about prevention including mitigation measures and immunizations,
developed pop-up clinics to bring vaccines to the homeless, refugee, and other underserved
communities, thus increasing vaccinations in these high-risk populations. Lastly, our global health
clinical faculty led the medical response with their teams serving thousands of patients via
telehealth and outpatient clinics and saved hundreds of lives by providing timely evidence-based
care in the hospital setting and vaccinating our community. Tampa General’s newly established
Global Emerging Diseases Institute with USF Health will further our mission of partnering with
global communities to prevent and manage emerging outbreaks through education, cutting-edge
research, and clinical care.

As we venture into a new year, we remain steadfast in our mission to build the next generation of
health leaders both here and abroad. We look ahead with hope and optimism to a future where
together we will grow to deliver the best health care to all. With much gratitude and awe, I share this
annual report that highlights the inspiring work of our students, faculty, and staff with our committed
global partners under the most difficult of times.

Lynette J Menezes, PhD

Assistant Vice President
USF Health International

3

WHEN IT COMES TO
GLOBAL HEALTH,

THERE IS NO 'THEM'
ONLY 'US'

- GLOBAL HEALTH NETWORK

Our Work Goes On...

We all encountered many obstacles to our global health
efforts during this catastrophic pandemic. Yet, our
students, faculty, and staff forged ahead, innovating
alongside our global partners to deliver education,
conduct research, provide clinical services and care for
our communities.

4

A New Partnership Develops...

Dr. John Adams expands our collaboration with
the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol
University. This new partnership will allow for
student exchange and collaborative opportunities
for faculty research. Dr. Adams collaborates with
Dr. Chootong, Mahidol Faculty of Medical
Technology and with Mahidol Oxford Research
Unit on their NIH grant in pursuit of a malaria
vaccine.

92 Collaborations in 38 countries

5 New Agreements
3 Renewals
1 Clerkship Agreement

Staying Connected...

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we developed new platforms to collaborate
remotely with our partners and stay connected. These virtual collaborations are
stimulating new opportunities for both faculty and students in global health research,
virtual study abroad, COVID-19 response efforts, field experiences, and clinical training
activities.

Brazil – FEEVALE University

Colombia - Universidad del Norte

Mexico - Universidad Nacional Autonoma de
Mexico (UNAM)

Senegal - Institut Pasteur de Dakar

USF Health International meets with a delegation from the Faculty Thailand - Chulalongkorn University
of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand to plan
collaborative activities including clerkship exchange, faculty UK - University of Exeter
teaching and sharing best practices for their new international
medical school Uganda - Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital

5

Research

Despite the many challenges caused by the pandemic, our faculty has
continued their outstanding research with their global partners. Our
researchers have leveraged the use of digital platforms to expand their
research into the digital space as well as in person collaboration.

Dr. John Adams
Immunological Characterization of the P-vivax DBP (PI). NIH/R01
Chemogenomic Profiling of Plasmodium Falciparum Drug Responses and
Resistance (PI). NIH/R01
Evaluation of Ivermectin as an Antimalarial Therapy Against P. falciparum Liver
Stage (PI). NIH/R21
Accelerating discovery of an efficacious Plasmodium vivax multivalent multi-
stage vaccine (PI). NIH/U01
Discovering the Essential Genome of Plasmodium falciparum (PI). NIH/R01

Dr. Liwang Cui
Southeast Asia Malaria Research Center (PI). NIH/U19
Molecular mechanisms of Artemisinin Resistance with CMU, China (PI).
NIH/R01
Training in Malaria Research in Myanmar. NIH/D43 Fogarty

Dr. Summer Decker
Department of Justice grant with a subcontract to the University of Leicester in
England.

Dr. Loree Heller
Accurately Inferring Demographic Histories of Human Populations Using Large
Whole Genome Sequence Data (PI). NIH/R01

Dr. Richard Heller
Thermal Assisted Gene Electro Transfer to the Skin (PI). NIH/R01
Efficient Delivery of Plasmid DNA to Achieve Appropriate Transgene
Expression (PI). NIH/R01
Controlled Delivery of Plasmid DNA via Low-Temperature Ion Deposition (PI).
NIH/R01

Dr. Ben Jacob
Targeted mosquito control through spectral fingerprints (PI). Joy McCain Fdn.

6

Never Stops

Dr. Jeffrey Krischer
Data Coordinating Center for Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet (PI). NIH/U01
Follow-up on Subjects, Integrative Data Analysis and Measurement of Viral
Antibodies in the Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in Young Study
(TEDDY) (PI). NIH/U01
Follow-up on Subjects and Immunological Assessments in the Environment
Determinants of Diabetes in the Young Study (PI). NIH/UC4
Multicenter Interventional Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Early Disease Trial (MILED)
– DCC (PI). NIH/U01

Dr. Xiaoming Liu
Accurately Inferring Demographic Histories of Human Populations Using Large
Whole Genome Sequence Data (PI). NIH/R01

Dr. Jun Miao
Development of CRISPR/dCas-based Epigenetic Gene Regulation Tools in
Malaria Parasite. (PI) NIH/R21

Dr. Robert Novak
Using drones to combat malaria in Mekong River subregion in Cambodia (PI).
The Gates Fdn.

Dr. Mahmooda Pasha
The use of social marketing to reduce salt intake in four Latin American
countries–Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica and Paraguay. PAHO

Dr. Monica Uddin
Transgenerational Epigenomics of trauma and PTSD in Rwanda (Co-PI). NIH/U01
Epigenomic Predictors of PTSD and Traumatic Stress in an African American
Cohort. (PI) NIH/R01

Dr. Thomas Unnasch
Community-directed Vector Control to Enhance Mass Drug Administration for
Onchocerciasis Elimination in Uganda (PI). NIH/R01
Development of a tool kit for human filarial transfection (PI). NIH/R21

Dr. Constance Visovsky
Breast Cancer Stigma in Latin America. NCI Grant

Dr. Derek Wildman 7
Epigenomic Predictors of PTSD and Traumatic Stress in an African American
Cohort. (Co-PI) NIH/R01

A New Spin

USF Health College of Nursing faculty Dr. Elizabeth Jordan, Dr. Barbara Smith, Dr.
Ivonne Hernandez, and Dr. Tiffany Gwartney have led the way in creating and
launching three virtual study abroad programs. These programs included 27 USF
students and a total of 95 students across all three programs. Lead faculty
benefited from the COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning) training.
These synchronous virtual global engagements (VGE) incorporate students from
multiple universities around the world to compare health systems and evidence-
based approaches in clinical care and disaster prevention in each country. VGE
encourages cultural sensitivity while learning new culturally appropriate
interventions.

"Understanding the planning
and preparation needed for
successful disaster
management was a
meaningful experience."–
University of Stirling student

"Working with my Scottish
partner and getting to share our
experiences about nursing
school with one another was
meaningful. It was interesting to
see the similarities and the
differences of nursing on a
personal level, let alone the
global level." – USF Health
Student

Dr. Tiffany Gwartney from USF College of Nursing and Dr. Marianne Fairley-Murdoch from
the University of Stirling Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport worked with nursing students
from both Universities to look at disaster management practices between the United States
and Scotland. 13 students participated in this program.

8

On Study Abroad

"El intercambio virtual global fue
muy valioso porque podemos
aprender entre todos temas
relacionados con la salud." –
UniNorte Student

"The global virtual exchange was
beneficial as it increased cultural
competency. First, it helps to be
able to concretely see that
differences exist in other countries
and to hear perspectives from
people who live in the country
rather than media." – USF Health
Student

"The global virtual exchange was
very valuable in learning between
different professions and
countries." – University of Exeter
Student

Dr. Ivonne Hernandez, Dr. Barbara Smith, Dr. Denise Maguire and Dr. Elizabeth Jordan 9
worked alongside Dr. Nicki Saulsbury, Dr. Alison Marchbank, and Patrick Coniam from
University of Exeter and Dr. Claudia Guevara, Fiorella Rivera, and Katherine Acuña from
Universidad del Norte in Colombia to deliver two virtual study abroad courses which
focus on learning about each country's health system and their work towards achieving
the sustainable development goals, particularly during a pandemic. More than 80
students across three Universities participated in these two virtual study abroad
programs.

Student Experiential
Learning

Nine medical Students from the USF Morsani College of Medicine have
been engaged in new and meaningful virtual research with our global
partners in Japan, Mexico, and Myanmar working on diverse projects
related to COVID 19 in Japan and Brazil, vivax malaria in Myanmar, and
breast cancer research in Mexico. In addition, 21 MPH and MSPH students
in the College of Public Health were engaged in virtual international field
experiences this year, working with partners across the world in Brazil,
Panama, Lebanon, Australia, and Thailand.

“Through imSC, I’ve been able to learn "My virtual IFE is moving along, we
how to both design and implement a are currently finalizing a codebook,
research proposal while working with preparing to analyze the data from
mentors both locally, in Tampa, as well our study, develop research
as abroad, in Japan. This opportunity questions, and find applicable
has allowed me to explore the literature reviews to assist me with
important topic of international health writing my draft analysis. I am
while learning the basics of how to learning the power of collaboration to
construct a research project.” - achieve public health outcomes."
Matthew Udine, MSI LaKese Brown - MPH Student

"In the midst of a public health crisis, My tasks in the MPH internship are to
USF Health, and the imSC in particular, develop content for the Salud Latina
kept their virtual doors open. As a website and to construct public health
medical student, I was still provided content that is distributed on the USF
opportunities to learn and grow by doing public health social media platforms
virtual research with mentors in the and also developing data collection
United States and abroad. The added tools such as behavioral surveys.
layer of virtual communication Overall, I feel that the experience I'm
sharpened my professional skills as well getting through this internship with be
as taught me how to be proactive and extremely useful, especially for
dynamic as a current student and future communicating public health content.
provider." - Catia Sleet, MSI - Suzana Lakić - MPH Student

"Recently I had the opportunity to start working with virologist experts Drs. Fernando Spilki and
Juliane Fleck of Brazil’s Universidade Feevale analyzing patient data regarding COVID-19. It is
an honor and an unparalleled educational experience to be able to join global partnerships and
work alongside esteemed and renowned researchers and scientists towards a common goal that
benefits humanity." - Zayn Mohamed, MSIII

10

Presenting at USF Health
Research Day

Winner of Medical Student Research Award At USF Health Research Day 2021,
Year 3 & 4 there were several students
across USF Health that presented
Christian Borton, MSIV global research projects working
with international researchers
Katherine J. Lin, College of Nursing from our collaborating
institutions.
Chinyere N. Reid, College of Public Health
Christian Borton, Morsani College
of Medicine, MSIV, "Exploring the
natural route of Aedes flavivirus
infection in Aedes albopictus
mosquitoes"

Katherine J. Lin, College of
Nursing "Educational Programs for
Post-Treatment Breast Cancer
Survivors: A Systematic Review"

Chinyere N. Reid, College of
Public Health "A Predictive Model of
COVID-19-related Stress on Anxiety
and Depression in International
Students at a Large Florida
University During the COVID-19
Pandemic"

Robert Morris, Taneja College of
Pharmacy "The Association
Between the Usage of Non-Steroidal
Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and
Cognitive Status: Analysis of Cohort
and Cross-sectional Studies from the
Global Alzheimer's Association
Interactive Network and
Transcriptomic Data"

Robert Morris, Taneja College of Pharmacy 11

Global is Local...

Led by the USF COVID Taskforce Chair and Dean of Public Health, Dr. Donna
Petersen, our faculty and staff were extensively involved in the COVID-19 response
and recovery including educating the community about prevention, assisting health
departments with exposure assessments, and contact tracing, conducting
surveillance testing and predictive analytics, developing 3D swabs for diagnostics,
providing clinical care and vaccinations to thousands in the Tampa Bay community
and leading numerous research projects and clinical trials.

Dean Donna Petersen was recognized by USF President
Currall with the President's Fellow Medallion, for her

exemplary service to USF, the Tampa Bay region, the state
of Florida and beyond.

Global USF Health faculty
led the response for USF

and the Tampa Bay
community

USF Health Faculty starting on top and moving clockwise. 12
Dr. Charles Lockwood, Dr. Christian Brechot, Dr. Tricia Penniecook,, Dr. Asa Oxner, Dr. Thomas Unnasch, Dr. Lynette Menezes, Dr.
Andy Myers, Dr. Seetha Lakshmi, Dr. Angela Garcia, Dr. Ivonne Hernandez, Dr. Charurut Somboonwit, Dr. Edwin Michael, Dr. Denise
Maguire, Dr. Kami Kim, Dr. Douglas Holt, Dr. Summer Decker, Dr. John Sinnott.

Local is Global...

As the world was being crushed by the COVID-19 pandemic, USF Health
International in collaboration with the Global Virus Network initiated and
hosted two virtual Global Health Conversation Series comprising 13 webinars
on “COVID-19 Response and Best Practices Globally” during Fall 2020 and
“The Impact of COVID-19 on Global Health” in Spring 2021. Twenty-eight USF
faculty, international speakers and moderators shared their expertise on
emerging knowledge related to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, mental
health, nursing practice, refugee health, predictive modeling, and other topics.
This conversation series invigorated us to engage with our international
partners in a meaningful way through shared experience, highlighting the
devastating impact on other global health problems and learning from best
practices worldwide. We had over 1,750 people register for our events. We are
grateful to our USF speakers and moderators and particularly our global
partners who shared their real world experiences on managing the COVID-
response in Mexico, India, Uganda, and Thailand.

13

Peer Connections...

Student to student conversations

USF Health students worked with our international partners to establish a Global
Health Student Conversation Series. Each session featured a conversation between
students from one of the USF Health colleges and a global partner institution to
discuss commonalities and differences in healthcare delivery. We had over 110
students and 17 faculty members from seven universities across six countries
participate in our student conversation series.

Dr. Ismael Hoare from USF and Dr. Harris Thurton from the University Dr. Menezes from USF worked alongside Dr. Yamamoto and Dr. Imafuku
of Belize guided USF Public Health and Pharmacy students from from GIFU University in Japan to facilitate a discussion among medical
University of Belize on global perspectives of fieldwork preparation by students from both institutions on telehealth's augmented role in the
universities in Belize and the U.S. across different health disciplines. healthcare systems of the United States and Japan over the course of the
COVID-19 pandemic and the future.

Virtual Language Exchange

USF Health’s virtual language exchange program links students across USF Health with
students from our global partners institutions for a medical language and cultural
exchange. This new innovative program allows students to learn practical clinical
terminology in another language, but more importantly, it gives the students confidence to
use that terminology in a culturally appropriate way. Students are paired in their first
semester, and must choose to continue with their partner throughout their time at USF.
Currently, 76 students participate across three international institutions.

"The USF MCOM/UNAM virtual language exchange partnership 14
has been an incredible opportunity for me to meet medical student
colleagues from another country and culture distinct from that
which I live in. Living in Tampa, FL, the need to know Spanish is
critical, especially in healthcare. My personal experience with the
VLE program has been fantastic; I practiced my medical Spanish
in patient interviewing skills, learned about cultural differences in
healthcare between Mexico and the U.S., improved my Spanish
language proficiency, and connected with a medical student from
another culture. I highly recommend this program to all medical
students seeking to become culturally competent and
compassionate physicians for our Latino community". - Brian
Longbottom, MSI

In Their Words...

In Their Words Series provides an avenue for USF Health students to engage
with faculty that work in the field of global health and learn from their
experiences. Our faculty have a wide range of expertise in global health, and
part of training the future workforce is helping them gain insight into the paths
chosen by others before them.

USF Health students interview Dr. Sharlene Smith, Dr. Minal Ahson, and Dr. Angela Garcia

Scholar Spotlight

USF Health is glad to have continued working with our international visiting
scholars throughout the 2020–2021 year. The International Scholar Spotlight Series
provides an opportunity for our medical students to interview visiting international
scholars and highlight the important research that they are engaging in. These
interviews serve not only as a warm welcome, but also as a opportunity to increase
our global reach for future research.

Apporva Ravichandran interviewed Nicholas Farrat interviewed Ivana Radosavljevic interviewed Dr.
Dr. Priyanka Bhatt Dr. Raquel Bezerra Daniel Moreira Silva

Dr. Bhatt earned her PhD from The Dr. Bezzera has earned two Ph.D.’s, the Dr. Moreira's current research focuses on
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in first from Sao Paolo University and the the analysis of the interaction between
India. She is actively working in the field of second from Italy. She is currently working Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. He
ocular drug delivery using novel on molecular mechanisms to produce and comes to USF Health with extensive
nanocarrier strategies. purify biochips from photosynthetic experience on neuropsychopharmacology,
organisms and look at the in-vitro activity especially regarding Alzheimers, the
of biochips. endocannabinoid system, and memory. 15

Global Emerging Diseases
Institute (GEDI)

GEDI is a new center of excellence
between Tampa General Hospital
and USF Health. Led by Drs. Sinnott,
Kim and Lakshmi, GEDI provides the
next generation of clinical care for
COVID-19 and other infectious
diseases. Additionally, GEDI faculty
are involved in cutting-edge clinical
research and plan to work with global
partners to provide trainings in
infection prevention, quality
assurance and quality control,
antimicrobial stewardship, and
patient safety.

Drs. John Sinnott, Kami Kim, Lynette Menezes, and Seetha Lakshmi

Group photo of GEDI faculty and staff 16

USF Health Leads Innovative
3-D Printing to Fight COVID-19

Summer Decker, PhD Dr. Summer Decker was instrumental in developing a 3-D nasal swab
Director of 3D Clinical design to test for COVID-19. As the pandemic began to spread, swabs
Applications, Dept. of Radiology were in high demand and extremely limited in supply. Dr. Decker and a
Vice Chair for Research and team from the USF Health’s 3D Clinical Applications Division created an
Innovation, Dept. of Radiology initial design, working with Northwell Health and collaborating with
Assoc Professor, College of Formlabs to develop prototypes and secure materials for a 3D printed
Medicine Radiology alternative. Over the span of one week, the teams worked together to
develop a nasal swab prototype and test it in the USF Health and Northwell
Health labs. In two days, USF Health and Northwell Health, using Formlabs’
3D printers developed prototypes which are now being used all around the
world.

Social Marketing Goes Global

Dr. Mahmooda Khaliq Pasha, Assistant
Professor of Social Marketing and Associate
Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on
Social Marketing and Social Change at the
USF College of Public Health, is training public
health practitioners on applying social
marketing to their ongoing global work and help
achieve results. This new initiative is hosted on
PAHO's (Pan-American Health Organization)
virtual campus and has been one of the most
successful courses that PAHO has had on its
platform.

17

Global Virus Network

GVN President Dr. Christian Bréchot and GVN Vice President Linman Li of the USF Health
Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine will lead the new GVN Southeast
U.S. Regional Headquarters and focus on regional efforts to expand public and private
research funding, as well as research and training initiatives. GVN encompasses
virologists from 63 centers of excellence and 11 affiliates across 35 nations, all working to
prevent illness and death from viral diseases posing threats to humanity.

Christian Brèchot, MD, PhD Linman Li, MBA, MPH, PMP, CPH
Senior Associate Dean for Research in Director, GVN Southeast U.S. Regional
Global Affairs, USF Health Morsani College Headquarters, USF Health
of Medicine Morsani College of Medicine, University
Associate Vice President for International of South Florida
Partnerships and Innovation, USF Vice President, Global Virus Network
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
President, Global Virus Network

Submitted Grant Applications

National Science Foundation (NSF)

AccelNet Viral Pandemic Preparedness Alliance Network: Design Partnership with
University of South Florida, Dr. Shyam Mohapatra and Foundation Merieux, Dr. Marc
Bonneville
NIAID Research Education Program/NIH
NextGen Experts: Virus-Microbiota-Host Immune Interactions, leading to Infectious Disease:
Prevention, Containment and Control. Partnership with University of South Florida and 6
GVN Centers of Excellence

Dr. Brechot’s Health Research &
Care Blog

USF Health’s Christian Brechot, MD, PhD,
President of the Global Virus Network, and
Mrs. Linman Li, Vice President for the Global
Virus Network share the latest on coronavirus
research and care.

Clinical Trial

Modulation of gut microbiota with NBT-NM108 for the early treatment of COVID-19 in patients

with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
Co-Principal Investigators: Dr. Asa Oxner, University of South Florida and Dr. Liping Zhao,
Rutgers University

18

USF Institute on Microbiomes

Based at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Dr. Christian Brechot leads the new USF
Institute on Microbiomes. This new Institute builds upon an ambitious initiative begun two
years ago and is dedicated to harnessing the vast population of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and
other microbes inhabiting our bodies and our planet, known as microbiomes, to improve
health and develop new treatments. That USF Institute on Microbiomes has sparked
interdisciplinary collaborations across the university to better understand how this diverse
collections of microorganisms, unique to each person, might be exploited to benefit human
health. It also includes studies of marine and soil microbial communities, which hold the
potential to protect the environment by mitigating climate change, food insecurity and
generating alternative energy sources.

International Speakers for the Institute on Microbiomes

Pierre Belichard, PhD Maria Carla Saleh, PhD
CEO, Enterome Principal Investigator, Viruses and RNAi
Unit
Department of Virology
Institut Pasteur Paris

Karine Clement, MD, PhD Laurence Zitvogel, MD, PhD
Sorbone University, INSERM UMRS Group Leader, Tumor Immunology and
NutroOmics Immunotherapy of Cancer
Faculty of Medicine Institut Gustave Roussy
European Academy of Tumor
Mathilde Gendrin, PhD Immunology
Junior Group Leader, Microbiota of
Insect Vectors Group
Institut Pasteur de la Guyane

19

Making a

USF Health is committed to working with our global partners to build local capacity.
Our partner Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital, Uganda has become the referral
hospital for all COVID-19 cases in the Entebbe region. In an effort to both help with the
current emergency and long-term needs, USF Health worked jointly with Entebbe
hospital to:

Install a water filtration system for the entire hospital
Build a resource center with computers and internet service to access uptodate
information, in addition to hosting virtual trainings for hospital staff
Install a laboratory management software system for the hospital
Conduct an assessment of COVID-19 impact on MCH outcomes with Dr. Chris Nsereko

Installing a patient management screen Installing a water filtration system to provide portable
water to Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital

Students Leading COVID-19 Relief Efforts

International medical scholarly concentration students (imSC), partnered with Upgrade
For Africa to assist with COVID-relief resources for Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital
(EGH), in Entebbe, Uganda. EGH is currently facing heartbreaking shortages in
medicines, oxygen, medical equipment and supplies, PPE, human resources, and
vaccines. imSC students were able to create an fundraising campaign, as well as
organize a 5K run to benefit EGH.

20

Difference...

Although student organizations were unable to travel because of the pandemic, our
students pressed on engaging with both local and global stakeholders to assist
their communities. Project World Health (PWH) redoubled their efforts to work
virtually with their global partners in the Dominican Republic. Through their hard
work, PWH was able to donate over $13,500 in medications and critical PPE and
other supplies to local clinics, hospitals, schools, and churches in Jarabacoa, DR.

Left photo: Residents of Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic with donations that arrived
Right photo: PWH students packing donations to be sent to their partner clinics in the Dominican Republic

Salud Latina (Latin Health Initiative)

The “Salud Latina” webinar series was conducted wholly in Spanish for the Spanish
speaking local and global communities to discuss the current pandemic and vaccines
in Ecuador, Panama and the United States.

Dr. Dinorah Martinez-Tyson, Dr. Arlene Calvo, Dr. Ismael Dr. Reina Ortiz – 8 virtual speaking engagements in Brazil, Ecuador,
Hoare, Dr. Abraham Salinas, and Dr. Miguel Reina-Ortiz Colombia, and Canada. Also co-organized a symposium with Colombia
hosted a public health education series with community and is the co-chair of ASTMH
members in Ecuador, Panama, and the United States in
Spanish

21

Interprofessional Education at USF

USF Health International collaborated with our Office of Interprofessional Education and
Practice to organize the third annual Interprofessional Education (IPE) day involving our
global partner, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, in the first international IPE
Day. The event focused on the globalization of infectious diseases with three keynote
speakers.

Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH

Dean and Professor of
Epidemiology
University of Nebraska Medical
Center
College of Public Health

Johan Neytz, PhD

Professor of Virology
Director of Global Virus Network
Center of Excellence
University of Leuven, Belgium

Amber Gum, PhD

Associate Professor
Louis de la Parte Florida Mental
Health Institute
College of Behavioral and
Community Sciences
University of South Florida

Our IPE day included a case competition between several interprofessional cohorts of students. A 22
panel of experts, including our global partners at UNAM chose the winning team for the case
competition.

Leading Peace Corps

Coverdell For the State

Faculty across USF raise the benchmark in Florida by leading five of the
eight Coverdell Fellows program in the state of Florida, two housed in the
USF Health Colleges of Public Health and Nursing. The College of Public
health hosted six Coverdell Fellows and the College of Nursing hosted two
Coverdell Fellows. In addition, the colleges of Arts and Science, Engineering,
and the Patel College of Global Sustainability also host a Coverdell Fellows
program.

Denise Maguire Barbara Smith, PhD, Jesse Casanova, MS Patricia Roque Somer Burke
PhD, RN, FAAN RN, FACSM, FAAN Assistant Director, Study Academic Services EdD, MPH, CPH
Senior Associate Dean of Interim Director, Global Assistant Director,
Alumni, Community & Global Abroad & International Administrator Experiential Learning,
Nursing Programs Experiential Learning College of Public Health
Programs Visiting Professor, College of Public Health
Associate Professor College of Nursing USF Health International
College of Nursing

Kelly M. Gaskell, MA, James Mihelcic, PhD Tara Deubel, PhD Kiki Caruson, PhD
MPA Professor of Civil and Env. Engineering Assistant Professor and Interim Vice President,

Assistant Director of USF College of Engineering, Graduate Director USF World
Development Dept. of Civil & Environmental USF College of Arts and
23
Engineering Sciences, Dept. of
Anthropology

Looking Towards the Future

Although the pandemic is leaving behind new obstacles, we remain resolute
to meet the challenges ahead. Our successes in global virtual engagement
encourage us to incorporate more virtual offerings to our students and
international trainees to bridge the gap during this ongoing pandemic. But,
we look forward with hope and optimism to reintegrating our in-person
global programs in the months ahead. These include our:

Service-learning experiences for our student organizations
Research, field experiences, and clinical electives for USF health students
and residents
LEAD training for hospital administrators and sub-specialists
Clinical Observerships for international medical graduates and students
Medical Student Exchange program
Global Health Fellowship program for graduated medical residents

Jessica Garcia, COPH student in Panama IHSC students at UNAM, Mexico

2020 Observer Jia Tang 2019 LEAD trainees visiting CAMLS 24