News and Announcements

CGHE Welcomes Dr. Gauri Desai as Co-Director
5/8/23
Welcome Dr. Gauri Desai, new co-Director of the Community for Global Health Equity
CGHE Bids Farewell to Dr. Kasia Kordas as Co-Director
1/31/23
This spring, the Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE) bittersweetly bids farewell to Dr. Katarzyna (Kasia) Kordas as co-director.
Welcome to new co-director Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah
12/12/22
As of Fall 2023, the Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE) bids farewell to longtime co-director, Dr. Samina Raja, and welcomes Dr. Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah.
CGHE Bids Farewell to Dr. Samina Raja as Co-Director
12/12/22
This fall, the Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE) bittersweetly bids farewell to Dr. Samina Raja as co-director.
Community for Global Health Equity Joint Research Hub Statement on Roe v. Wade Decision
6/30/22
CGHE leadership stands committed to supporting the full spectrum of safe and affordable reproductive healthcare. We also are deeply committed to our UB campus and local community, and will assist where possible with research-based, publicly-accessible information related to this ruling.

2021 News and Announcements

Deep appreciation for the contributions of Jessica Scates to CGHE
4/27/21
The Community for Global Health Equity bid farewell to Jessica Scates on April 1, 2021. Jessica joined CGHE in 2015, as the community was being founded, and served as its administrative assistant and later programs manager for over 6 years. From CGHE’s fledgling steps, Jessica contributed to our successes in innumerable ways, supporting our mission in the areas of research, education, and outreach.
UB scientists release U.N. report on food systems planning
2/9/21
The report is among the first to detail strategies for local government planners in low- and middle-income countries.
Can nanotech, microbes partner to destroy PFAS?
2/9/21
Scientists will use analytical and computational methods to understand how PFAS degrade at each step of the proposed treatment process.
CTSI Translational Pilot Studies Program awards 13 new grants for 2021
1/20/21
The CTSI Translational Pilot Studies Program provides seed money to investigators to assist them in developing new technologies and therapeutics from the conceptual stage to clinical studies.
Another Voice: New refugee policy would bring benefits to Buffalo
1/15/21

2020 News and Announcements

Gratitude and Thanks to Dr. Lisa Vahapoğlu
12/21/20
In early 2016, we welcomed Dr. Lisa Vahapoğlu to the Community for Global Health Equity (CGHE) and the University at Buffalo. Over the past five years as CGHE program coordinator, Lisa has supported the tri-part mission of UB and CGHE: research education and outreach.
It’s not the caffeine; it’s the people
12/17/20
Three members of the UB community argue why being stuck at home — and unable to hang out in cafes and bars — drains our creativity.
Exploring COVID through comics
11/23/20
A UB program helped students from around the world examine their experiences during the pandemic by creating COVID-themed comics.
UB researchers awarded $1 million grant to advance urban agriculture
11/18/20
Team will work with partners in Buffalo and Minneapolis to grow urban agriculture policy from the ground up.
Demographics and Developing Social Policy
9/29/20
The unique wants and needs of the individuals who make up neighborhoods, communities, cities, states, and even nations, can be obscured or forgotten when social policies are developed. Dr. Sharmistha Bagchi-Sen, Professor in University at Buffalo’s Department of Geography, takes a human approach to matters of law and social policy. Her research in economic and urban geography takes regional demographics into consideration while forming foundational data to inform policy makers. Dr. Bagchi-Sen targets gaps in existing research and literature to offer local-scale nuance that helps prevent the shoehorning that takes place when basic and broad solutions are applied to situations that call for more humanity and consideration.
Living with Pervasive Agrichemicals
9/29/20
Marion Werner, Christian Berndt, and Becky Mansfield are co-organizing the upcoming Baldy Center workshop, “Global Glyphosate: New Challenges in Regulating Pervasive Chemicals in the Anthropocene.” Marion Werner is an Associate Professor in the UB Department of Geography, Christian Berndt is a Professor in the Department of Geography, University of Zurich, and Becky Mansfield is a Professor in the Department of Geography, Ohio State University. They lead a collaborative, interdisciplinary team focused on researching multiscalar regulation of pervasive chemicals. The Baldy Center’s Caroline Funk spoke with them about their work and the upcoming conference.
CGHE Postdoctoral Associate Receives the Bloomberg Professorship of American Health
9/15/20
What silicone wristbands say about chemical exposure in Uruguayan children
9/16/20
Millions of children fail to reach their developmental potential worldwide, in part due to higher rates of exposure to current and legacy pollutants. Researchers studying chemical exposures among children in Uruguay turned to an unlikely data collection device as part of a recent study: silicone wristbands.
RENEW Study with CGHE Faculty Seeks to Improve Plastic Recycling
9/16/20
UB’s RENEW Institute has been working on an ambitious multidisciplinary study of the plastics recycling industry, which was thrown into disarray after China curtailed its waste importing business in 2018.
CGHE Announces 2020-2021 Big Ideas Teams Leadership
8/26/20
Effective September 1, 2020, the Community for Global Health Equity is pleased to welcome outstanding faculty members to co-lead several of our Big Ideas teams. We recognize these individuals for their collaborative, interdisciplinary work and look forward to their partnership during the next academic year:
CGHE Supports Lupus Research in Vellore, India
8/18/20
Dr. Jessy Alexander, Research Professor with the Department of Medicine, studies the roles of the innate and adaptive immune systems in health and disease. In particular, Dr. Alexander researchers the role of an important arm of the innate immune system, the complement cascade in inflammatory conditions such as glomerulonephritis and lupus. Her recent study seeks to identify proteins that can be targeted for therapeutic treatment of Lupus.
CTSI inaugural community partnership development grant awarded
7/13/20
The CTSI has announced the New American Mental Health Advisory Council as the first awardee for its Community Partnership Development Seed Grant Program.
Gates Foundation awards funding to UB epidemiologist
5/21/20
Laura E. Smith will develop a decision-making tool that can plan more effective health campaigns in low- and middle-income countries.
CGHE Co-Director Kordas among environmental health scientists calling for institutional and personal responsibility for climate change
5/21/20
The disproportionate vulnerability of children to the vicissitudes of climate change has been widely noted, including in the Lancet Countdown and the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. There are, of course, many consequences of climate change, including food and water scarcity, heat stress, increases in pollution- and vector-related diseases, lost family income, and displacement and trauma from surviving a climatological disaster—all of which can result in particularly severe and long-lasting physical and mental health sequelae in children.
Recent Doctoral Graduate and CGHE Alumna, Gauri Desai, wins Saxon Graham Dissertation Award
5/3/20
Dr. Gauri Desai, a recent doctoral graduate in epidemiology, was recognized at the 2020 SPHHP Student Awards as the recipient of the Saxon Graham Dissertation Award. She received the award for her dissertation titled “Low-Level Arsenic Exposure, B-Vitamins, and Neurodevelopment among Uruguayan Schoolchildren.”
NCHH and Health Collaborating Centers Urge President and Congress to Restore WHO Funding
6/22/20
On April 28th, 40 respected health leaders across the United States released A Declaration of U.S. Health Collaborating Centers, an open letter urging the president and the Congress not only to restore but increase funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). The declaration stated that the mission and capacity of WHO is needed now more than ever to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why gender-sensitive social protection is critical to the COVID-19 response in low- and middle-income countries
6/22/20
Many governments are using social protection programs to respond to the economic crisis and health risk induced by COVID-19. As of April 17, 133 countries had adapted or introduced 564 social protection initiatives, according to the World Bank. With the focus on rapid assistance, gender considerations have understandably not been at the forefront of these efforts. A rapid assessment of initial COVID-19 social protection responses indicates that only 11% show some (albeit limited) gender-sensitivity.
This map shows where people can access food in Buffalo during COVID-19
4/27/20
As coronavirus threatens food security, UB Food Lab researchers are working with community partners to respond.
Magical thinking in the time of Covid-19
6/22/20
Over the past few weeks, I have heard variations of "I don't know why but I don't think Bangladesh will be affected by Covid-19 in the way that other countries have been." That obvious kind of magical thinking, expressed by a friend, an uncle, and even my mother, is almost endearing; for, it is so clearly an expression of love. And fear. It makes you want to hug them and say, "yes, me too."
CGHE produces next textbook
4/14/20
The work from the Community of Excellence provides a comprehensive, interdisciplinary look at the field of global health.
COVID-19 Travel Information
3/13/20
UB continues to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and is taking proactive measures in accordance with guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control to ensure UB faculty, staff, students, and visitors remain safe and healthy.
Keep COVID-19 communication clear and simple
3/5/20
UB health communication expert Janet Yang offers tips for keeping the public informed, not alarmed.
GIC focuses on communicating complex science
2/18/20
This year's Global Innovation Challenge examines how to communicate complex health information to people in global North and South countries.
Samendy Brice applies design to bridge food access along Haiti, Dominican Republic border
2/5/20
Samendy Brice, a second-year Master of Architecture student and winner of the inaugural Watts Scholarship, shares her passion for building diverse and inclusive spaces and communities. She is currently completing her thesis research on structural enablers of food access along the border of Ouanaminthe, Haiti, and Dajabon, Dominican Republic.
Using eye-tracking technology to detect neuro disorders
1/17/20
UB biomedical engineer Anirban Dutta and colleagues are testing their “MindEye” device as an early predictor of Alzheimer’s.
Update from Anirban Dutta’s NIRlab: CGHE welcomes Visiting Research Assistant Yashika Arora!
1/15/20
At his Neuroengineering and Informatics for Rehabilitation Laboratory (NIRlab) in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, CGHE faculty member Dr. Anirban Dutta works with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)—a non-invasive imaging technique in which light of a particular wavelength is applied to chemicals or biological subjects.

News and Announcements

2021 News and Announcements

2020 News and Announcements

Community of Excellence in Global Health Equity