Center for Global Health announces 2024-25 Faculty Mentor Travel Grant awardees

The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Center for Global Health is pleased to announce the 2024-25 recipients of its Faculty Mentor Travel Grants.

Following a fall application and review cycle, the center is pleased to award MUSC faculty members, Puja Sukhwani Elias, M.D., Mulugeta Gebregziabher, Ph.D., and Kimberly Kascak, MS, with the funding to lead and mentor trainees on their individual global health project work abroad.

Annually, the Center for Global Health offers University faculty members the opportunity to receive up to $2,000 towards leading students and trainees to low- and middle-income countries for education, research, or service-learning programs.

This year’s faculty mentor travel grant awardees will pursue the following project work:

Puja Sukhwani Elias, M.D., MPH

Professor, College of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Project description: According to Elias, access to gastrointestinal services in underserved communities is sparse at best. To address this, the Central America Outreach & Endoscopy (CARE) was established in 2019 to provide otherwise inaccessible gastroenterological (GI) endoscopic care to the remote mountainous highlands of Atitlan, Guatemala. Her project will include leading MUSC trainees to provide endoscopic and clinical services, supporting the long-term goals of the program while generating sustained interested in global health among the trainees.

Mulugeta Gebregziabher, Ph.D.

Professor of Biostatistics and Vice Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences

Project description: A previous recipient of a Center for Global Health Faculty Pilot Research Grant in 2019, Gebregziabher’s progress on his work, which focuses on screening methods to prevent cervical cancer and surveillance of HPV in Ethiopia has faced unexpected challenges caused by the COVID pandemic, as well as two years of war in the Tigray region of the country. Supported by this award, Gebregziabher will travel to Aksum, a northern town in Ethiopia, to conduct data collection and analysis and participate in training and tutorial programs at the local Aksum University.

“We believe that through this trip, in addition to our short-term goal of training a PhD student, we could become a catalyst for the rehabilitation efforts of the region by bringing attention to the decimated health care and the dire healthcare crisis. We believe that this project will achieve a long-term goal of avoiding preventable deaths due to HPV and cervical cancer,” Gebregziabher said.

Kimberly Kascak, MS

Assistant Professor, Academic Affairs Faculty, Office of Interprofessional Initiatives

Project description: Kascak will be joining a team of approximately 15 physical therapy students and faculty on a medical mission to the Peruvian towns of Iquitos, Tamshiyacu, and Nauta. The mission involves partnering with three schools that serve more than 300 children with disabilities, providing direct services to the children and training sessions for Peruvian teachers. According to Kascak, the educational project will reinforce TeamSTEPPS® (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) principles previously learned by MUSC students through the Office of Interprofessional Initiatives. The work will also include training for Peruvian faculty and staff that focuses on effective strategies to enhance motor, self-care, and sensory development in children with disabilities.

“Through this mission, I hope to inspire growth and collaboration among both students and Peruvian teachers, fostering skills that create lasting positive impacts and enhance the quality of life for children with disabilities,” Kascak said. “This work continues my lifelong passion for global service, interprofessional teamwork, and improving the lives of children with disabilities, rooted in my Peace Corps experiences.”

The three recipients were chosen by a review committee following an application cycle that occurred in October 2024. The funds awarded must be used within 12 months from the date of the award, with the goals of each meant to assist recipients in providing mentorship to students or trainees in furthering global health research or training projects in the low- or middle-income countries.