Transforming Global Women’s Health, Fellow by Fellow

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From Botswana to Haiti to the Middle East, Global Women’s Health Fellows are making vital contributions in this newly emerging field.

Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH is the most recent fellow to graduate from the program, receiving her certificate before an enthusiastic and supportive group of colleagues, family, and leadership from the Division of Women’s Health on June 3.

The fellowship began in 2007 as a response to the shortage of physician leaders in global women’s health. The interdisciplinary program combines field-based research with formal public health education, helping fellows build the skills and experiences they need to become successful researchers and effective leaders.

“This fellowship gave me the foundation to create a career out of academic global health, which can be difficult and challenging because it’s a relatively new field of study,” said Marisa Nadras, MD, MPH, who graduated from the fellowship last year and is now co-director of Global Health for the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Boston Medical Center.

Fellows come from a variety of clinical specialties and are encouraged to take a broad view of women’s health, with research topics ranging from obstetric care to gender-based violence and sexually transmitted infections.

Pagidipati’s research focused on cardiovascular diseases in women in India. Despite high rates of cardiovascular disease in women, screening and treatment rarely takes place. Pagidipati adapted a cardiovascular screening tool and created a model to determine the cost-effectiveness of implementing this screening.

As the Indian government invests more resources into its health system, Pagidipati hopes that her findings will be transformed into policies to address the growing rate of heart disease in women in India.

“Global Women’s Health fellows produce real-life science with policy implications around the world,” said Paula Johnson, MD, MPH, executive director of the Connors Center. “This work has significant impact for women across the globe.”

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