Penn Global Grant Recipients

Generative AI for Efficient and Equitable Healthcare on a Global Scale

Hamsa Bastani, The Wharton School

Through a close collaboration between the Somaliland Ministry of Health and Development (MoHD), the Taiwan International Cooperation Development Fund (ICDF), and Penn researchers, Bastani will develop effective and safe AI methodologies to improve healthcare accessibility, quality, and efficiency in safety-critical scenarios and resource-constrained environments.

Adoption, Usage, and Optimal Financing of Electric Cookstoves

Susanna Berkouwer, The Wharton School

BURN, a cookstove manufacturer based in Nairobi, developed an induction cookstove and piloted it with 4,000 customers across Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. Following a feasibility study conducted by their research team, Berkouwer will launch a large-scale study evaluating the environmental and financial benefits of electric cookstoves, and potential barriers to adoption.

Global Lives of Medicines

Hsiao-wen Cheng, School of Arts and Sciences

 “Global Lives of Medicines” is a collective research project on the cross-cultural exchange of medicines and the ways in which global trade networks and local healing practices intertwined across Asia. Much of the research will challenge decades of emphasis on European expansion and related influences on trade networks.

Cultural Adaptation of Digital HIV intervention for Men Who Have Sex With Men in South Korea

Seul Ki Choi, Penn School of Nursing

This project aims to culturally adapt and pilot test the HealthMpowerment (HMP) intervention to address HIV disparities among young men who have sex with men (MSM) in South Korea. This project will offer insights into adapting digital health interventions for diverse cultural settings, promoting global health equity, and improving HIV prevention for underserved populations.

Learning from US and EU Approaches to Challenges in Modern Drug Regulation

Holly Fernandez Lynch, Perelman School of Medicine

In collaboration with regulators at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA), Fernandez Lynch will address critical challenges facing these agencies as they balance the importance of rigorous evidence to support drug efficacy and safety and the demands of patients facing serious diseases with unmet treatment needs.

Latin American Economic History Book Project

Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, School of Arts and Sciences

This project aims to generate the most relevant resource for a general audience interested in Latin America’s economic history. The team will write, publish, and promote an economic history textbook on Latin America that integrates previously overlooked histories of underrepresented pre-Columbian indigenous societies up to the region’s most recent political and economic upheavals.

Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Behaviors: Developing Curriculum

Femida Handy, School of Social Policy and Practice

In partnership with Nitte University in India, Handy’s team will develop an interdisciplinary curriculum to meet a new mandate of the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to include environmental education, including climate change, as part of the academic program. Research will also explore factors linking student awareness to engagement in pro-environmental behaviors, and how this relationship is influenced by attitudes toward climate change.

Penn-NYU Shanghai Project on Preparing China’s Children for the Future

Emily Hannum, School of Arts and Sciences / Graduate School of Education

China’s child population has fallen dramatically in recent decades and is projected to fall further amid rising wealth, inequality, and economic uncertainty. This binational project will support collaborative scholarship on child development, welfare, and education, with a focus on urban and rural economic inequalities, families and parenting, and climate hazards and environmental risks.

The Lived Refugee and Immigrant Experience in Greece

Fariha Khan, School of Arts and Sciences

This project will center the perspectives of immigrants and refugees, identify specific challenges that they face in Greece, and develop recommendations on how Greek government policies, the nonprofit sector, and the private corporate sector, can support their integration into Greek society.

Safer Cesarean Deliveries: A Train-the-Trainer Program in Tanzania 

Victoria Mui, Perelman School of Medicine

This project will design a sustainable Cesarean delivery (CD) training program in collaboration with Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) to improve maternal health outcomes in Tanzania and create a reproducible model that can be broadly implemented in other regions.

Creating Research-based Animated Videos About the Dutch Caribbean Islands 

Simon Richter, School of Arts and Sciences

In collaboration with experts, artists, NGOs and communities, Richter’s team will produce a series of animated videos that draw on local knowledge to convey a research-based perspective on the physical and social climate adaptation challenges of the six islands of the Dutch Caribbean and propose solutions.

Efficacy of a Novel Pediatric Resuscitation Educational Intervention 

Madiha Raees, Perelman School of Medicine

This project will study the efficacy of a novel, contextualized pediatric resuscitation educational intervention, using Annenberg Hotkeys, a free distance learning platform. The efficacy study will be implemented in referral hospitals in Ghana and Botswana over a 6-month period. Findings will inform the design of a future hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial.

Policy and Technical Methods for Global Critical Infrastructure Protection 

Benjamin Schmitt, School of Arts and Sciences / Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

This project will study and develop next-generation policy and technical responses for democracies to deploy, building out an open-source intelligence toolkit to help democracies identify, attribute, and ultimately, deter emerging physical threats against critical infrastructure (e.g., cables, pipelines, renewable energy installations) in both maritime and remote environments.

Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Diabetic Retinopathy Care in South Africa

Michelle Sun, Perelman School of Medicine

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is now one of the leading and fastest growing causes of vision impairment and blindness, affecting low- and middle-income countries disproportionally. This project targets one of the poorest slum communities in South Africa and aims to understand how to effectively utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to support patients with DR in primary care centers.

Climatic Hazards, Schooling and Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa 

Amrit Thapa, Graduate School of Education

Thapa will investigate hazard effects on schooling and learning in Sub-Saharan Africa via analysis of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) data and field visits in six countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin. Findings will contribute to academic and policy discussions about climate change impacts on children across the world.

Transferable Clinical Algorithms from Medical Literature

Mark Yatskar, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences

Pulmonary tuberculous is a leading cause of death worldwide and is fatal in 50% of untreated cases. With a focus on Botswana, this project aims to model the “clinical algorithm” – or decision-making process employed by human clinicians – to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of automated diagnostic systems for pulmonary tuberculosis. Clinician feedback will help identify gaps and inform future clinical studies.