2019 CUGH Global Health Leadership Awards

Dr. Bridbord received an M.D. from the University of Chicago (1969), and completed an internship in pediatrics at Bellevue Hospital, New York University, followed by an MPH from Harvard (1971). For the past 35 years he has been with the Fogarty International Center (FIC). As Director of FIC’s extramural programs, he transformed extramural programs from a small number of fellowships and research grants around the world to an extensive portfolio with exclusive focus on low and middle-income countries, with unique research training modalities for scientists from developing countries to address global health threats, especially HIV/AIDS. Prior to coming to NIH, Dr. Bridbord worked at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH/CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). At the EPA he had a crucial role in efforts to identify the health risks from lead and draft the initial Federal health-based regulation to remove lead from gasoline. For this work he received a Silver Medal from EPA in1975. In 2000, he received the AAAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation for his tireless work to establish programs for combating HIV/AIDS. In 2007, Dr. Bridbord received the NIH World AIDS Day Award for his efforts to develop a cadre of international research scientists and clinicians trained to fight against the AIDS pandemic. In 2009, he received a Distinguished Service Award from the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, and in 2012, Dr. Bridbord was honored by the U.S. Senate acknowledging 42 years of service to the U.S. Government. From 2012 to 2015, Dr. Bridbord served as Acting Deputy Director for the FIC, and before his recent retirement he was Acting Director, Division of International Relations for the FIC.

Dr. Holmes is a Professor, Departments of Global Health and Medicine Adjunct Professor, Departments of Microbiology and Epidemiology Director of Research and Faculty Development, Department of Global Health University of Washington, USA.

During his more than fifty years (since 1968) of global health research and training, Dr. Holmes has collaborated with over 170 trainees and mentees, of whom several serve as CUGH leaders. His more than 800 publications (with about 200 left to write) include Muir et al – “GlobalHealth Partnerships: Are They Working?” in Science Translational Medicine, (2016), in collaboration with CUGH and CSIS. He established the Department of Global Health (DGH) within the University of Washington (UW) Schools of Medicine and Public Health, where he served as the Founding William H. Foege Chair of Global Health from 2006 – 2014. The DGH has grown to include 421 faculty with more than 745 projects in 134 countries. He was Vice Chair of the UW Department of Medicine (198489). Healso served as PI and CoPI for the UW/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS Research; likewise for the UW/UCSF International Training and Education Center for Health (ITECH), with US Government funded programs and offices in numerous countries. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the National Academy of Medicine. His previous awards include the 2013 Canada Gairdner Foundation Global Health Award, and the 2013 Infectious Diseases Society of America Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Ibrahim is an award-winning public health physician who currently works as a public health officer and sub-national health sector coordinator at the World Health Organization (WHO) Nigeria. Previously, he worked in various capacities for programmes funded by DFID(UK), CIDA, USAID, OFDA and the Norwegian government to rebuild and strengthen health systems in conflict-affected states.

His work supports government agencies and coordinates partners to provide essential lifesaving healthcare to millions of people- IDPs, People Living with HIV/AIDs (PLHIV), survivors of SGBV and orphans and vulnerable children. He also leads health systems recovery and development, initiates and coordinates health sector efforts to prevent and manage outbreaks in complex humanitarian emergency settings.

Dr. Ibrahim has led several health system reform initiatives that resulted in the establishment of a primary health care management agency, a basket (pooled) fund for routine immunization, maternal health, HIV/Aids and Tuberculosis care, and improved human resources (for health) policies and practices, in resource-limited settings. Dr. Ibrahim also supported rehabilitation and re-equipping of over 100 primary care facilities in northeast Nigeria, an intervention that contributed to improved access to healthcare and survival amongst IDPs and PLHIV, and a decline in maternal and infant mortality rates.

He has received several awards for outstanding performance and was designated a Public Health and Development Champion in Nigeria. He was recognized by the UK and US governments, and granted President Obama’s Mandela Washington Young African Leaders Award in 2016

Christy Hanson is a Senior Program Officer on the TB team of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Hanson holds a PhD in International Health Systems with a health economics concentration from Johns Hopkins University and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Minnesota.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Hanson was the Dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship and an associate professor at Macalester College. She joined Macalester from USAID where she was Chief of the Infectious Diseases division and oversaw the portfolios of malaria, tuberculosis, NTDs and anti-microbial resistance. She has also held positions with the World Health Organization and World Bank and PATH.

Dr. Hanson has worked alongside the governments of more than 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, providing technical and policy development guidance to Ministries of Health. Her primary research focus is in the use of data for decision making. She has published more than 25 articles and book chapters.

Mercy is currently a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, working in 

Dr. Nimmi Ramanujam’s Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies. She is also getting her certificate in Global Health and is a Global Health Doctoral Scholar. Mercy grew up in Ghana, completing Holy Child Secondary School in Cape Coast, after which she received a full scholarship to the University of Rochester, USA. There she pursued a degree in Biomedical Engineering and Business. After her bachelor’s degree she was accepted into the PhD program in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. At Duke, her research focuses on the development of low-cost imaging tools for speculum-free cervical cancer screening, and development of machine learning-based algorithms for automated risk assessment. She seeks to use her technological skills to address health disparities such as cervical cancer in resource-limited settings. Her work has potential to enable women to perform self-cervix imaging, and also address limitations from lack of trained physicians for cervical cancer screening, enabling widespread, community-based cervical cancer screening. Outside of school at Duke she founded the Duke African Graduate and Professional Student’s Association and was president of the group for 2 years during which she organized conferences, mentorship activities and networking events.