DGHI Marks 20 Years of Impact

Even before Dr. Anthony Fauci stepped to a podium in the Nasher Museum of Art auditoriam on the afternoon of Monday, April 17, 2006, something big was already happening around global health at Duke. 

Fauci, then the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was on campus to kick off the 2006 Duke Global Health Symposium. The two-day event featured such luminary speakers as Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health; Dr. Joep Lange, former president of the International AIDS Society; and Dr. Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel Prize winner in economics. 

The symposium also marked the official launch of the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI, which was formed to coalesce and amplify global health research and education across campus. Though it had no director or permanent staff at the time, the institute’s formation was seen as a bold step for a university that was becoming known for its interdisciplinary approach to complex social issues. 

Randy Kramer, Ph.D., an emeritus professor of global environmental health, recalls the buzz of excitement surrounding the symposium, which drew an audience of more than 200 faculty, staff and students. 

“There was a strong feeling that Duke was starting something truly innovative before most of its peers,” says Kramer, who served as DGHI’s deputy director from 2011 to 2019.

In April, DGHI will kick off a series of events and activities to celebrate the institute’s launch and its 20 years of impact.

“We’re excited to recognize this significant landmark in the life of our institute,” says DGHI director Chris Beyrer, M.D. “This is a critical moment for our field, and this anniversary affords us an opportunity not just to celebrate what we’ve done, but to reflect as a community on how we can build on our strengths to confront the challenges of the next 20 years.”

Alumni, faculty, staff, students and partners can help mark DGHI's milestone by participating in these activities:

While the 2006 symposium is considered DGHI’s official birthday, several efforts were already underway to formalize Duke’s commitment to global health. A year earlier, Duke president Richard Brodhead created the Global Health Initiative, which led to the development of the global health Focus seminar for first-year students and a global health certificate, both of which debuted in spring 2006. The first graduating class from the certificate included 43 students from 17 different majors, an early sign of the cross-campus appeal of the global health curriculum.

Merson was hired as DGHI’s founding director in July 2006. The former dean of public health at the Yale University School of Medicine, he was attracted by Duke’s plan to organize DGHI as a nimble institute working across campus boundaries. 

“It was clear to me that to really make a difference in global health required a broad approach involving many disciplines and professions,” Merson said in the first of our DGHI20 Reflections interviews, in which DGHI faculty, staff and alumni look back on key moments in the institute’s development.

That idea quickly took shape into one of Duke’s largest and most diverse interdisciplinary institutes. From an initial group of seven researchers, DGHI has grown to include nearly 200 faculty and 100 academic staff, representing every school at Duke and a broad range of expertise. In 2005, DGHI faculty had 204 active research projects in 49 countries, with annual external funding exceeding $45 million. 

DGHI is also one of the only global health programs to offer education to students at every degree level, including an undergraduate co-major and minor, a Master of Science in Global Health degree, a doctoral scholars program supporting Ph.D.-level researchers, and programs through the Hubert-Yeargan Center supporting global health training for  medical residents and fellows. The institute coordinates global experiential learning for dozens of Duke students in multiple countries each year, and it has organized at least nine federally funded training programs to build clinical and research skills among students in low- and middle-income countries..

“For 20 years, the Duke Global Health Institute has exemplified Duke’s commitment to innovative interdisciplinary research and education, transformative experiential learning opportunities for students, and purposeful partnerships around the world,” says Duke Provost Alec D. Gallimore, Ph.D. “As it reaches this milestone, I congratulate DGHI on the exceptional impact it has had on the field of global health and the communities globally in which it partners and look forward to its continued growth and success in the years to come.”

“The Duke Global Health Institute plays a vital role in accelerating discoveries and translating them into meaningful improvements for communities worldwide,” says Mary E. Klotman, M.D., executive vice president for health affairs at Duke, dean of the Duke School of Medicine and chief academic officer of Duke Health. "I am proud of the institute’s remarkable contributions in advancing research, delivering life saving interventions, and preparing the next generation of global health leaders. Its impact has been profound, and I have every confidence it will continue to shape global health for many years to come.”