Global Health

Research Internship Info

Session

23-09-2016

Joyce Browne, Noor Mutsaerts, Meri Varkila

and Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch

Julius Global Health

Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMCU

Agenda

• Julius Global Health

• Research internships at Julius Global Health

• General requirements for research internships

at Julius Global Health

• Current offers

• Tips & tricks to find an external research

internship

Julius Global Health

Rationale

Global health emphasizes transnational health

issues, determinants and solutions and aims to

achieve equity in health

• Conduct high impact (clinical) epidemiologic

research generating evidence to contribute to

improved individual and population health

• Engage in capacity building of researchers and

health care professionals across the globe

• Work in collaborative partnerships for reciprocity

in benefit

Aims Aims

Research Focus

• Cancer • Cardiovascular Disease • Infectious Diseases • Maternal and Child

Health • Environmental Health

Research Locations

South Africa: HIV and antiretroviral treatment

and cardiometabolic risk

Project examples:

• Ndlovu Reseach Consortium – a

multidisciplinary research

programme assessing prevention,

prognosis and management of

HIV and the interaction with

chronic diseases (Ndlovu Care

Group, UMCU, UU, Wits RHI;

Elandsdoorn)

• Inflammation and CVD risk in HIV

infection (Wits RHI, Johannesburg)

• HIV (treatment) in relation to

pregnancy complications and

infant outcomes (Wits DPHRU,

Soweto/Johannesburg)

Project examples:

• Mhealth to enhance clinical

decision making of health care

providers to decrease maternal

and neonatal mortality and

morbidity

• Prediction and prevention of

hypertensive disorders in

pregnancy

• Perinatal outcomes after

hypertensive disorders in

pregnancies

Ghana: Reproductive and Child Health

Collaboration with Mnazi Mmoja Hospital

• Assessment and improvement of fetal heart rate

monitoring

• Audits of care to pregnant and delivering women

Zanzibar: Reducing Stillbirth through improved

Intrapartum Fetal Monitoring

Project examples:

• Breastfeeding optimization and impact on early

determinants of health (circulatory, respiratory)

• Early pregnancy cohort: Impact of Ramadan, incidence of

placental disorders

• Cardiovascular and neurocognitive consequences of HIV

infection in children

Indonesia: Maternal and Child Health

Global Health

Student Research and Experiences

• Noor Mutsaerts: Duration of protection following

maternal influenza vaccination

• Meri Varkila: The influence of HIV-infection on

pulmonary condition in Sub-Saharan Africa

General requirements for a research

internship at Julius Global Health

and current offers

Research Internships Julius Global Health (1)

• Duration:

– 12 weeks Netherlands

– 18 weeks (minimum) in case of international field

work

– Sometimes possible to arrange for 2 students

• Supervision:

– NL & international supervisor, weekly updates / skype

calls

• Characteristics successful student:

– Pro-active, open-minded, committed, culturally

competent, solution-seekers (important in LMIC!)

Research Internships Julius Global Health(2)

• Financial coverage:

– Only for direct research costs, not for travel and

accommodation costs

– We support (travel) grant applications!

• Co-authorship:

– in principle yes, position depends on input

Current internship offers (as of Sept 2016) (1)

Country Contact person

Title Details

South Africa

Alinda Vos/ Kerstin Klipstein

CVD risk factor profile by CIMT and pulse wave velocity in HIV-positive / negative Black Africans

- 24 weeks - Can inlcude systematic review,

field work at NRC - From Jan ‘17 onwards

Alinda Vos/ Kerstin Klipstein

Renal function to CIMT in HIV-positive and negative Black Africans

- 24 weeks - Can inlcude systematic review,

field work at NRC - From Jan ‘17 onwards

Alinda Vos

HIV and cardiac conduction patterns in South Africa

- Systematic review - Field work (incl ECG,

spirometrie, blood samples) - 24 weeks

Zanzibar Marcus Rijken/ Joyce Browne

Intrapartum fetal monitoring record keeping validation study

- 12-18 weeks - Start Nov/Dec - Can include short fieldwork

trip to enter data collected

Current internship offers (as of Sept 2016) (2) Country Contact

person Title Details

NL Marcus Rijken

Oxytocine pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics modeling for a novel delivery system (the ‘bioneedle’)

12-18 weeks In samenwerking met Bangkok en bedrijf ‘Bioneedle’

Malaysia Amy Hwong Wen Yea/Ilonca Vaartjes

Improving stroke care in Malaysia: an assessment of stroke metrics and quality of stroke care

24 weeks Literature review, development of data collection tools for participating hospitals, can include a short fieldwork trip to implement the data collection sheet

Ghana Joyce Browne

Predictors of adhesions during caesarean section

12 weken, data-analyse in Nederland in samenwerking met Ghanese onderzoekers

Ghana Hannah Brown

Antenatal care service delivery in a low-resource setting and its effect on maternal mortality

12 – 18 weeks Includes field work From Jan ‘17 onwards

Tips & tricks to find an external

research internship

Do your homework:

– Check the research activities out of the person you’re

contacting

– Be specific about what you find interesting, also if this

includes a range of topics

– Know what you want to learn in a scientific internship

• Write an interesting and appealing e-mail introducing

yourself, why you’re interested in doing research with this

person, and what your internship requirements are (e.g. when,

duration, etc).

– Consider having it checked by a native speaker

• Include an (English) CV

NB: know that you can contact US for internal UMCU supervision

More information

• Julius Global Health: www.globalhealth.eu

• Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch: K.Klipstein-

Grobusch@umcutrecht.nl

• Joyce Browne:

J.L.Browne@umcutrecht.nl