Downs International Health Student Travel Fellowship

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Click here to download the updated application (Feb 5)

Kaveh Khoshnood, PhD, LEPH 405, 60 College Street

The Downs International Health Student Travel Fellowship honors Wilbur G. Downs (1913 - 1991), M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, renowned physician/scientist in the fields of tropical medicine and infectious diseases, mentor to many students and colleagues. The Fellowship supports Yale students who undertake biomedical, medical, nursing and/or public health research in developing countries. The Committee on International Health (CIH) awards Downs Fellowships based on merit.

Downs Fellows carry out research in the context of their host countries’ culture, health problems and resources. The Fellowship provides funds for transportation to and from overseas project sites, cost of visas, site-specific drugs, immunizations, evacuation insurance and a modest stipend. Although students may initiate projects, Yale faculty members provide intellectual support, practical assistance and links with host-country sponsors who serve as mentors during the Fellows time abroad. The choice of research topic and methodological detail are joint responsibilities of applicants and advisors. Any member of the Yale faculty may sponsor applicants. Downs Fellows present their research findings and experiences at the Annual CIH Fall Symposium and Poster Session. Most Fellows further develop their studies into a thesis or dissertation.

Past Downs Fellows

For more than a century and a half, Yale faculty and students have been in the forefront of health education and health promotion in foreign countries. Since 1966, the CIH has provided opportunities for almost 400 students to live, learn, work and do research in overseas settings. Many projects undertaken by Downs Fellows have led to prizes for outstanding theses, oral presentations and posters at national and international learned society meetings, and research articles published in peer reviewed journals. Fellows have contributed to an increased understanding of epidemiological, genetic, molecular biological, clinical and sociologic patterns in health and medicine. While some Past Fellows have established careers in global health, surveys show that almost all Fellows were influenced profoundly by their experiences abroad regardless of their career choice. Hard copies of recently successful applications may also be read at The Public Health School’s Office of Student Affairs, Career Services Library, Room 114, 47 College Street.

The Downs Fellowship provides opportunities for challenging experiences abroad. Fellows create and improvise in the face of unforeseen events, acquiring new perspectives on their responsibilities and capabilities as professionals.

LISA KUVIN SCHREIER, MPH ‘88. My Downs experience was invaluable. I developed new friendships based on common beliefs and sharing of different cultural practices. Most importantly, faced with new situations, unexpected challenges and expressing myself in a foreign language, I was forced to explore my goals and myself

GWENDOLYN MYERS, DMV, MPH ‘94. A Land Rover hood may become the laboratory desktop in the field. W. Downs Fellowship brought into reality the culmination of many years towards these work- opened horizons of opportunity. I am forever grateful to the W.D. Fellowship... perhaps the most profound and positive educational experience for me. It brought lessons learned in the classroom into a very real public health situation¼

Fellowship Program Support

Foresight and generosity led Dr. Downs to create an endowment that supports student travel and research abroad. Annual donations from his family, friends and colleagues, and the abiding interest and support of the administration and faculty nurture the growth and remarkable success of the Fellowship. Yearly contributions from Alumni Downs Fellows, The Hartley Foundation, the Waksman Foundation for Microbiology, and matching funds from the Dean of Medicine permit the CIH to award as many as 15 fellowships a year. Additional support for Downs Fellows comes from the Yale School of Medicine Office of Student Research, host institutions, national and international sponsors. A worldwide network of researchers, some of whom are established collaborators in research with members of the Yale faculty, provides logistical, intellectual, and cultural guidance for Downs Fellows. Investigators overseas who advise Downs Fellows add critical strength and vitality to the program.

How to Participate

The CIH encourages all interested students to learn about the Downs Fellowship program and work with faculty members of their choice in designing research projects to be carried out abroad. The Directory of Faculty Research Interests at the Medical School is available in the Office of Student Research, 310 EWS Harkness. You can do your own search by going to the Office of Student Research website. Click on COS Yale Faculty or Research Directory . Conduct your search for faculty based on research interests, faculty name, department, etc.

Past Fellows are usually eager to discuss their projects, some of which are accessible at this web site in power point. Alumni Downs Fellows enhance the Fellowship endowment by annual giving and by identifying overseas colleagues who mentor Downs Fellows. Faculty members who collaborate with investigators and health professionals who live and work abroad are encouraged to contact any member of the CIH.

Application and Deadline

Please be sure to print the entire Word application.

Click here to download the application. (Revised Feb. 5 2008)

Click here for the timeline.

Send your completed application electronically to: Linda.Halle@yale.edu

Alternatively, you can deliver your completed application to:

The Committee on International Health
C/O Linda Halle
Yale School of Public Health
60 College street
New Haven, CT, 06520