DGHI Funding
DGHI deploys internal funding to enhance the global health research portfolio of the institute. Typically, the institute awards seed funding through the following competitive grant opportunities:
- Pilot grants of up to $25,000 for a single year, which are designed to support new interdisciplinary collaborations in global health research. Pilot grants are often awarded to support a particular theme or emerging area of research, and DGHI frequently partners with other Duke entities in awarding the grants. To be selected, proposals must have good potential to earn external funding down the road.
- Travel grants of $5,000, which are awarded twice a year, primarily to junior faculty, to support travel to a specific location. These grants are designed to allow faculty to explore the feasibility of starting a research project in a new location. They are open to all Duke faculty.
- Visiting scholar grants, which help enable scholars from DGHI partner institutions to spend time at Duke. These grants allow DGHI faculty to bring colleagues from other parts of the world to campus to expand their knowledge or collaborate on projects.
External Funding
Consult the Duke Research Funding page for up-to-date information about funding opportunities.
Current Opportunities
Request for Proposals: Global Health Research Resources
Deadline: December 14, 2020
The Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) is pleased to offer small research support grants of $2000-$5000 each to DGHI faculty. These grants can be used for publication fees, hiring professionals (eg editors) for proposal development, analytical support, postdoc/RA assistance – a resource that will enhance an investigator’s competitiveness in finding external research funding.
Contact: Kelly Deal
Request for Proposals: Duke Global Health Institute Pilot Research
Deadline: January 4, 2021
Through this RFP, the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) seeks to provide pilot funds to stimulate interdisciplinary research collaborations with the larger goal of enabling investigators to leverage preliminary findings and data to obtain larger awards of external funding. Preference will be given to proposals examining topics of non-communicable diseases (such as hypertension, congestive heart failure, obesity, diabetes, cancer, mental health); or environmental issues (especially the overlap between environmental issues and non-communicable diseases). Collaborative and interdisciplinary proposals are required. Junior faculty and newly appointed institute faculty are encouraged to apply and will be given special consideration.
Contact: Kelly Deal
DGHI Grants Team
DGHI’s grants team provides pre- and post-award support for faculty who have MOUs with the institute. If you have an established MOU with DGHI that gives you access to the grants team, contact a grants manager to discuss the pre- and post-award process. If you have questions about establishing an MOU with the institute, contact the DGHI director of operations.
Contact the Grants Team

Sheri Matthews
Director, Finance, Administration & Operations

Sandra Ruane
Financial Management Analyst III

Edward (Jamie) Mills
Grants & Contracts Manager

Pede Cadmus
Grants & Contracts Administrator

Benjamin Spain
Grants & Contracts Administrator

Nikita Poujai
Grants & Contracts Administrator