On April 22, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, with funding and support from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research, held the “SUNY Global Health Research Symposium.” Spearheaded by Jack DeHovitz MD of SUNY DHSU and Gene Morse PharmD of SUNY Buffalo, this hybrid in-person/distance meeting provided a forum for the SUNY campuses engaged in extramurally funded global health research to share their programs and explore opportunities for collaboration.

 

In the morning, Peter H. Kilmarx MD, Deputy Director of the NIH’s Fogarty International Center provided the opening address, “NIH funding opportunities in academic global health research, challenges during COVID-19.” This was followed by a selection of in-country investigators who shared updates on their SUNY collaborative research projects.

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In the afternoon, the Hon. Keith Martin, MD, PC, Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health, Washington, DC, delivered the Keynote address: “A Call to Action to Reform Global Health Partnerships.”  Afterwards, SUNY campus representatives highlighted their on-campus centers/institutes, followed by discussion on how to move forward with interinstitutional collaborations.  Approximately 200 people attended the meeting, of whom 40 attended in-person at the SUNY Global Center in Manhattan.  SUNY representatives included the University of Buffalo, University at Albany School of Public Health, SUNY Stonybrook as well as SUNY Upstate and Downstate. Additionally, we were fortunate to have brief presentations by colleagues from Jamaica (in person), Zimbabwe, Georgia and Kazakhstan.  A presentation from a research NGO in Kyiv, Ukraine was particularly notable for their ability to continue work in the setting of armed conflict.