“I am proud to have stayed at CMU GHRC as a visiting PhD student in 2024. As I conclude my stay here, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to contribute to and learn from such a distinguished team. There are extraordinarily talented people with passion, dedication, and groundbreaking work in advancing global health research and innovation that is making a profound impact on regional communities. It is truly inspiring to see the positive changes that your efforts are bringing to this world. The insights and knowledge that I gained hugely during my time here have greatly enriched my global health career. Thank you all indeed for the support, mentorship, and stimulating academic environment at CMU GHRC. I will always cherish the invaluable experiences and memories we have made together.”

Wenbo Song

Ph.D. student in the joint program at Nagasaki University, Japan, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

“I’ve had a wonderful three months at the GHRC, and I can honestly say that the team here made my experience truly special. From the moment I arrived, I felt welcomed and part of a family—I’ll miss everyone greatly!

During my time here, I had the chance to learn a lot and get involved in some truly exciting projects. I visited various academic institutions, met with policymakers, and explored field sites across Thailand. My project focused on using data science to map the burden of disease in Northern Thailand, particularly by analyzing the frequency and relationships of diseases using anonymized electronic healthcare records from Lampang province. What stood out to me was the data’s ability to follow a patient’s entire healthcare journey, providing a detailed and continuous view that was essential for our analysis. I’m hopeful that this is just the beginning of my relationship with GHRC, and I’m eager to see what the future holds for this amazing institution.”

Kirsty Andresen

Ph.D. student from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

“As a Luce Scholar placed at the Global Health Research Center, I was initially daunted by the prospect of moving to a foreign country alone for a year. However, the team quickly made me feel welcome, supporting me in my transition and my professional development. The team’s encouragement not only helped me adjust but also significantly contributed to my Thai speaking skills, allowing me to connect more deeply with the local community.

Collaborating with such a passionate and skilled group has been an enriching experience. From implementing a hypertension treatment protocol across primary care facilities in Thailand to designing a clinical decision support tool for neonatal management at the Thai-Myanmar border, I was challenged and taught the importance of tailoring sustainable solutions to a local context. It was truly admirable working with Professor Chaisiri, following him through meetings, and observing him advocate for healthcare improvements and reforms.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to develop my technical skills, working with PhD students from the UK to create a Shiny App using R to visualize disease prevalence and multi- and co-morbidities patterns based on province-wide EHR data. The team’s commitment to global collaborations extended to including me in significant projects and events, which eventually led to my role as the emcee for two international conferences — the “2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Healthcare Innovations for Future Society” and the “Thai-UK World Class University Consortium Conference on promoting cross-disciplinary research and sustainable developed goals.” Meeting researchers worldwide has been an honor, expanding my network and enriching my understanding of global health challenges. I am deeply grateful for this incredible opportunity, the lessons learned, and the lasting connections made.”

Edward Tran

Researcher in Management Science & Engineering – Health Systems Modeling & Policy at Stanford University, USA, and a grant recipient of the Luce Scholar Program

“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the entire global health team for making my experience in Chiang Mai, Thailand truly unforgettable. Working alongside such a dedicated and passionate group of professionals was an inspiring and enriching journey. The GHRC team’s commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes in the communities they served was evident in every aspect of the work. My time spent shadowing the palliative care doctors and visiting the sites where the hypertension data was collected at CMU was especially meaningful as it also provided me with new perspectives on holistic approaches to healthcare and a better understanding of effective program implementation. I learned invaluable lessons in cross-cultural collaboration, resourcefulness, and the power of teamwork through the conferences we attended in Bangkok as well. The knowledge and experiences I gained during this time have profoundly shaped my understanding of global health and will undoubtedly influence my future endeavors. Thank you for the guidance, support, and the incredible impact it has made on both my professional and personal growth. I hope to able to return to contribute more meaningful work in the near future! ”

Koshma Eswaramoorthy

Sophomore at the University of Texas and Southwestern Medical School, USA

“I had an amazing 10-day visit to Dr Chaisiri and team at the GHRC. I learnt a lot from the whole team about the PILM project and gained a lot of insights for the grant application we were working on together. Not only are the team extremely knowledgeable, their openness, friendliness and inclusivity made collaborating with them a complete pleasure – they made me feel very welcome. On top of this, I got to visit beautiful Chiang Mai during Songkran, which was a very special experience. Thank you Dr Chaisiri and team, I hope to visit again soon!”

 Lily Hopkins

Ph.D. student from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

“I am a medical student from UC San Diego who spent the summer (Thai “wet” season) between my first and second years conducting research from Chiang Mai University’s Global Health Research Center. Working under the guidance of Dr. Angkurawaranon and alongside his team was equal parts exciting and comforting. I had the freedom to investigate a project of my own interest (neonatal jaundice treatment initiation in migrant health clinics along Myanmar) while receiving the support of a brilliant, welcoming, and truly astounding team. I learned invaluable lessons from my multitudes of questions and observed a healthcare system that rivals some of the best in the world. I luckily also made some dear friends in the department, who made me feel right at home and so cared for. Being in one of the most beautiful locations in the world, outside of my research, I had ample time to climb jungle waterfalls, care for sanctuary elephants, and explore cities and villages all across the country. Two months was far too short for such a spectacular experience!”

Inaya Iriaz

Year 2 Medical Student, UCSD School of Medicine, USA

“It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to have spent six weeks at the Global Health Research Center. As part of my Master’s in Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, I worked in partnership with the GHRC to investigate the relationship between diagnostic coding for chronic kidney disease and long-term blood pressure control in Northern Thailand. In doing so, I gained invaluable experience in electronic health records research that I will undoubtably draw on in the next steps in my career.

At every step, the team was supportive, responsive, and professional as we worked together to derive new insights from the real-world data. I’m excited to see what projects happen next at the GRHC and hope to collaborate again in the future!”

Ryan Specie

MSc student from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK

“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the entire global health team of Chiang Mai University. It has been a privilege for me to work with the Global Health Research for three years as part of my Phd project on perinatal health of marginalised women on the Thailand Myanmar border. With their valuable input and knowledge but above all the kindness, guidance and support of them I had the opportunity to finish my Phd. With the experience I gained, I have a strong foundation to continue my career.”

Taco Jan Prins

 PhD Fellow and Researcher from the University of Amsterdam, Netherland

“As I conclude my first month at CMU GHRC, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for an experience that has been both formative and deeply meaningful. As a visiting medical student just embarking on my global health journey, visiting Thailand for the first time on my own was both exciting and daunting. I was met with a team that was incredibly welcoming, kind, thoughtful, and generous, and I felt at home almost immediately.
I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to learn about the breadth of large-scale research initiatives underway at CMU GHRC and to observe how global health work is built through thoughtful collaboration. Being included in visits with delegates from international organizations such as the World Health Organization allowed me to see how research, policy, and implementation intersect in real time, and how much care and intention go into translating ideas into data and ultimately into meaningful impact. I was consistently struck by the team’s enthusiasm for teaching and their openness in bringing me into conversations, meetings, and experiences that I found truly inspiring. Although my time during this visit was brief, it has had a lasting impact on how I think about global health work, with greater humility, curiosity, and appreciation for partnership. I am very excited to return and continue learning alongside this remarkable community.”

Crystal Zhou

Medical Student – Year 2 from UCLA, USA

“I have been working on emulating a target trial at the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University. Since then, it has been an incredibly enriching and rewarding experience. I am especially grateful to the welcoming Thai team for their kindness, support, and all the effort behind the logistics that made this stay possible. It has truly been a pleasure to collaborate with such a talented and dedicated group of epidemiologists, data managers, and statisticians. I feel fortunate to be learning and working alongside such an inspiring team. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to my supervisors for their guidance and continued support throughout this experience. I look forward to the rest of this journey!”

Ali Al-kassab Cordova

MPhil student in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK

MMSc in Global Health, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

“I am deeply grateful to have spent the past five weeks working with the exceptional team at Chiang Mai University’s Global Health Research Centre. As a final-year medical student from Imperial College London, this experience formed my medical elective and has been one of the most meaningful periods of my training.

The team entrusted me with agency over my research area, allowing me to shape a project aligned with my academic interests. I conducted a quantitative study exploring hypertension control among individuals with mental illness diagnoses across Northern Thailand, with a particular focus on identifying potential health inequalities and treatment gaps.

Throughout the placement, I felt consistently supported both academically and personally. Colleagues were generous with their time, offering guidance and regular discussions about the direction of my work. Beyond this, I am so grateful for their warmth and kindness – from socialising over lunch breaks to recommending key areas of Chiang Mai to explore.

I will cherish the time I spent at CMU’s GHRC. I am truly grateful for the team’s mentorship, and I will carry these experiences with me throughout my career.”

Avi Ela

MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery), Imperial College London, UK

BSc in Global Health, Imperial College London UK

My time with the Global Health Research Center has been a meaningful and memorable part of my fellowship. I am very grateful to the whole team for their kindness, patience, and support.

I joined the UK-Thailand project and visited urban and rural sites in Chiang Mai and Surat Thani. I took part in surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, co-design activities, and regular project meetings. These experiences helped me understand how research is conducted in real communities and healthcare settings.

I was especially impressed by the work of local healthcare staff and Village Health Volunteers. The knowledge and memories I gained in Thailand will continue to influence my future research. I hope this is not the end of our connection, but the beginning of future friendship and collaboration.

Xinya TU

Fellow at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, China Medical Board Global Health Leadership Development Programme (CMB GHLDP) and Lecturer, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, China

 

I am incredibly grateful to Chiang Mai University and the Global Health Research Center for welcoming me during my year in Thailand as a Fulbright-Fogarty Fellow. My time at CMU gave me the opportunity to study youth substance use prevention while learning directly from Thai researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and communities about how prevention programs are implemented in practice.

Most importantly, I will carry with me the relationships and perspectives I gained during my time in Chiang Mai. The generosity of my CMU colleagues made Chiang Mai feel like home and reinforced the importance of partnership and learning from one another in global health. I leave Thailand a better researcher and public health practitioner and hope this is only the beginning of my collaboration with CMU and colleagues throughout the region.

Jacqueline Hackett
Doctor of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA and Fogarty-Fulbright Fellow
Assistant Dean at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, USA

Sawasdee kha Friends and Colleagues!

Over the past year, I have had the privilege of living and working in Chiang Mai as an NIMH UCGHI Fogarty GloCal Research Fellow at Chiang Mai University Faculty of Medicine. What an incredible journey it has been! I recently had the opportunity to reflect on my GloCal experience as a speaker at the NIH LAUNCH Orientation for Global Health Leaders in Bethesda, Maryland. Looking back, I am filled with gratitude for my friends, colleagues, and collaborators at the CMU Faculty of Medicine Global Health Research Center, Chiang Mai Rajabhat University (CMRU), and the CMRU Demonstration School (CMRU-DS). A few highlights from my GloCal experience included:

  • Partnering with teachers, families, faculty, and staff at CMRU and CMRU-DS, to conduct my research study on parenting stress, emotion socialization & child psychological adjustment in Thai families 
  • Hosting our community workshop on supporting children’s mental health for the families at CMRU primary school
  • Organizing the Global Mental Health Symposium: Empowering Families: Advancing Mental Health Across the Globe through Research, Policy, and Partnerships in Koh Samui Thailand in March 2026, which brought together an international group of researchers, clinicians, and community stakeholders working to advance global mental health research and practice. 
  • Presenting on integrated behavioral health at the CMU “Celebrating 40 Years” Conference 
  • Traveling to Hanoi, Vietnam for the Cutting-edge, Customized, and Comprehensive (CCC) HIV Capacity Building for Vietnam and Thailand.
  • Immersing myself in the beautiful city and culture of Chiang Mai, connecting with its warm people, and eating so much incredible food! 

Most of all, I am grateful for the friendships I formed with my colleagues at CMU, which I will cherish for a lifetime

Since returning to the U.S., I have begun my clinical internship/residency at UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and am completing my dissertation as a PhD candidate in Clinical Science at UC Berkeley. As a clinician and researcher, I am dedicated to developing and providing culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and evidence-based assessment and treatment for underserved youth and families. I look forward to continuing my partnership with CMU and building on the work we began together in Chiang Mai.

I would like to offer a heart-filled thank you to my CMU mentor, Dr. Chaisiri Angkurawaranon, my UC Berkeley mentor and dissertation advisor, Dr. Qing Zhou, and my UCSF mentor, Dr. Lauren Haack, who has not only served as a clinical and research mentor, but who also introduced me to this opportunity, as a GloCal alumna herself. Lastly, in addition to the wonderful GloCal team at UCSF, I would like to give special thanks to NIMH, NIH Fogarty, and UC Global Health Institute, without whom this life-changing and foundational career experience would not have been possible. 

ขอบคุณมากค่ะ(Kob Khun Mak Kha= Thank you)  and I hope to see you all again soon

Erika Roach

NIMH UCGHI Fogarty GloCal Research Fellow, University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)