Growth Through Mentorship

“The greatest advances in global health are rarely achieved by individuals working alone”

The most enduring advances in global health are built through relationships: researchers sharing expertise, institutions investing in one another, and mentors creating space for emerging scientists to grow. That principle is at the heart of the Integrated Networks of Scholars in Global Health Research Training (INSIGHT) Fellowship, part of the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center’s Launching Future Leaders in Global Health Research Training Program.

INSIGHT is more than a fellowship. It is a global research network designed around collaboration. Each fellow is supported through a distinctive mentorship model that brings together a U.S. based mentor and an LMIC-based mentor. This structure helps ensure that research is scientifically rigorous, responsive to local priorities, and positioned to create sustainable impact.

Faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) are central to this work, mentoring U.S. and LMIC fellows and collaborating with institutions across Africa. Through these partnerships, mentorship becomes a bridge between institutions, disciplines, countries, and generations of researchers.

THE GLOBAL VOICE recognizes the University of Maryland School of Medicine mentors that go up and above the call of duty to grow global health through research and mentorship across continents and institutional collaborations while addressing diseases and health challenges affecting millions worldwide. Through the INSIGHT Fellowship global partnerships are brought to life by connecting University of Maryland faculty, emerging African researchers, LMIC mentors, and leading institutions across Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, and Zambia. The program has collaborations with Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, the Center for Vaccine Development in Mali, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, and the University of Zambia, with fellows pursuing locally relevant research that addresses pressing public health priorities. Projects include strengthening malaria surveillance through advanced blood meal analysis and molecular detection of Plasmodium parasites in Anopheles mosquito vectors; examining the feasibility of nurse-led integration of hypertension care into HIV services in Nigeria, supported by SMS patient engagement and telephone consultation for nurses; and developing a peer-support model to integrate hypertension management into community-based HIV care for men in Zambia.

By pairing fellows with UMB faculty including Drs. Robert McCann, Shannon Takala Harrison, Clement A. Adebamowo, Marie-Claude Lavoie, and Cassidy W. Claassen and experienced LMIC mentors, INSIGHT creates a collaborative research environment that combines international expertise with local knowledge and institutional capacity. Together, these projects illustrate the broader impact of the fellowship: advancing high-priority research while strengthening long-term institutional relationships, building research capacity, and developing the next generation of global health researchers.

Partnerships That Strengthen Everyone

The benefits of these collaborations extend far beyond the individual fellows. University of Maryland faculty gain valuable insights from working alongside internationally recognized LMIC scientists who understand the realities, priorities, and complexities of conducting research within their own communities. At the same time, LMIC institutions strengthen their research capacity while developing future faculty and scientific leaders. The result is a partnership model built not on one-way knowledge transfer, but on mutual learning, shared expertise, and collective impact.

Looking Ahead

As global health challenges become increasingly complex, no single institution or country can solve them alone. Programs like INSIGHT demonstrate that meaningful progress happens when institutions invest in people, cultivate trusted partnerships, and create opportunities for researchers from different countries to learn from one another.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine is proud to contribute to this mission through faculty whose mentorship continues to inspire the next generation of global health researchers.

Together with their LMIC colleagues and INSIGHT fellows, they are building more than research projects—they are building partnerships that will shape the future of global health and collaboratively push forward the mission of the University of Maryland Global Health Alliance.