The global health space has the power to connect researchers across disciplines and bring light to the world’s pressing challenges. For Ph.D. students and candidates who are pursuing research in global health, the Eck Institute for Global Health at the University of Notre Dame facilitates this with its Ph.D. Fellowship program.
“The advantage for the selected Ph.D. students is that the fellowship allows for them to focus on their research without the distraction of administrative duties,” said Marian Botchway, assistant director of training and educational programs at the Eck Institute for Global Health. “These Ph.D. students can immerse themselves in their data collection, analysis, and writing.”
Here are four Ph.D. students—all of whom will defend their dissertations this year—whose studies intersect in global health in different ways and locations, but find commonalities through the Eck Institute’s leadership and network.
Emily Selland
Working with rice farmers in the river basins of Senegal and fishing communities in Kenya, Emily Selland’s research looks at ecological and social interventions to mitigate the transmission of schistosomiasis, a parasitic worm infection that can be life-threatening and generally found outside the US.
“I'm not from a schistosomiasis endemic region, so I am working with and learning from the people there that have the knowledge and expertise, as well as critical lived experiences,” she said. “A lot of scientific research is geared towards publications, papers, and later application. But the Eck Institute is supportive in getting my research and application to affected communities.”
Mentored in her Ph.D. research by Jason Rohr, Ludmilla F., Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla College Professor & Department Chair in the Department of Biological Sciences, she also credits Bernard Nahlen, director of the Eck Institute for Global Health and professor of biological sciences, with helping her understand the intersectionality of global health.
“Professor Nahlen has this rich knowledge of how all the pieces tie together,” she said. “I do a lot of work in the science policy and science communication space. I am thinking about the structure of foreign governments, interacting with them, and determining how we can broadly control diseases and global health. I got a lot of value from learning about his background, hearing his examples, and talking through different scenarios of applied global health.”
Recently, Selland has been finalizing the final chapter of her dissertation, which presents a model of how both social control mechanisms—the human focus, such as mass drug administrations—and environmental control mechanisms can coincide to benefit schistosomiasis-affected societies in sub-Saharan Africa. “The fellowship has given me space and the resources to conceptualize and actualize that,” she said
She concluded, “My time with the Eck Institute has been complementary towards my interests in science policy and the application of research. They have great insights about how I can be involved in this space in the future.”
Jingdong Yang
In his hometown of Wuhan, China, Jingdong Yang lived through the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and he experienced firsthand the complexity of a global pandemic. He said, “It reinforced my belief that global health requires a holistic synergy between lab research, government cooperation, pharmaceutical/biotech innovation, and societal trust.”
Today, his Ph.D. research at Notre Dame is focused on medicinal and biological chemistry, specifically targeting gastrointestinal infections caused by bacterial spores that are resistant to antibiotic treatment. He is mentored by Shahriar Mobashery, Navari Family Professor in Life Sciences, and Mayland Chang, research professor, both in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry.
“By removing the need for additional teaching assistant or resident advisor duties, the fellowship allowed me to maintain high research productivity and focus on my dissertation milestones,” said Yang. “The biggest surprise was realizing how much global health exists outside the lab. Seeing other students’ research helped me understand that solving health crises requires more than just bench science. It involves community engagement, social-government relationships, and health policy.”
“I see a strong parallel between global health and pediatric medicine: Children are a vulnerable population, and each child represents the future well-being of an entire family and society, he said. “My time with the Eck Institute taught me that improving health for the most vulnerable is the most effective way to improve health for the whole population.”
This summer, Yang will begin a two-year postdoctoral clinical chemistry fellowship in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He plans to apply the technologies and analytical skills developed during his studies at Notre Dame to pediatric laboratory medicine, specifically in disease diagnosis and therapeutic drug monitoring.
Prakash B K
“My area of study is ‘caste,’” said Prakash B K, a Ph.D. student in anthropology. “In South Asian scholarship, caste has long been interpreted and understood as a primarily social and cultural phenomenon—a system of hierarchy reproduced through notions of purity and pollution, marriage within one's caste, kinship-based occupational segregation, and everyday practices of touchability and untouchability.”
He further explains, “Caste is also becoming a burgeoning health issue—one that has been overlooked in academia, particularly in the fields of global health and global mental health. Much like racial inequities in Western societies, caste functions as a deeply entrenched structure of power that organizes social life. Its effects are not merely social but profoundly embodied, shaping who is exposed to suffering, whose pain is recognized, and who receives care. Caste is a central axis of health inequality affecting more than 260 million Dalits worldwide.”
Prakash B K is mentored by Aidan Seale-Feldman, assistant professor, and Vania Smith-Oka, professor, both in the Department of Anthropology. He continued, “With their expertise in medical and psychological anthropology, they helped me refine my research questions, pushing me to think more critically about how caste operates within clinical spaces. They also offered detailed feedback on my preliminary findings and emerging analysis, especially around the concepts of microaggression and structural violence.”
This fellowship allowed him to immerse himself in a psychiatric hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, for twelve months. “As an anthropologist, I know that trust, rapport, and deep understanding cannot be rushed. The fellowship gave me the time I needed to observe seasonal changes in patient intake, to witness the same patients across multiple consultations, and to build genuine relationships with Dalit patients who had every reason to be wary of a researcher.”
Through his interactions with the Eck Institute, he learned to translate his anthropological insights into a language that could engage global health practitioners. “I learned to explain why caste matters for health outcomes, not just for social structure. It required me to speak outside my disciplinary comfort zone, and that stretching has made my research stronger.”
“Before the Eck Fellowship, I wanted to be a good anthropologist,” he said. “Now, I want to be an anthropologist who makes caste impossible to ignore in global health. The fellowship gave me that vision, and I am now actively looking for a postdoctoral scholarship position in order to pursue it.”
John Kane
Mentored in his Ph.D. research by Michael Ferdig, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, John Kane uses a combination of genetics, genomics, and molecular biology to understand the cellular responses of malaria parasites to drug exposure and how parasites evolve mechanisms for antimalarial resistance.
“This fellowship made it possible to pursue the multidisciplinary, systems-level approach that defined my Ph.D. research by supporting extended collaborations with researchers across institutions and scientific disciplines,” Kane said. “These experiences not only strengthened the scope of my research but also expanded my technical expertise through specialized experimental and computational approaches.”
Kane noted that he appreciated this fellowship that is rooted in global health, “because it encourages applicants to go beyond a niche question of interest.” He said, “I am always surprised at the diversity of global health-related research that the Eck Institute supports, which transcends infectious disease research and includes chemistry, economics, and various social science disciplines.”
Kane’s experience has confirmed his interest in pursuing a career in the global health field. “The fellowship exposed me to a wide range of impactful research and public health efforts being carried out across the global health community,” he said. “Interacting with researchers working on diverse infectious disease and translational health challenges reinforced the importance of collaborative, interdisciplinary science and strengthened my motivation to contribute to research with tangible real-world impact.”
Global Health Fellowship
Every other year, the Eck Institute awards a limited number of graduate fellowships that provide additional financial support for outstanding students. Fellowship recipients benefit from resources and formal affiliation with the Institute while continuing to advance their disciplinary research that addresses global health challenges.
The Eck Institute’s Ph.D. Fellowship program includes opportunities to make important connections to global health resources, which include support from the vast network of the Eck Institute’s core and affiliated faculty, periodic check-in meetings with Eck Institute directors, lunches with peer Ph.D. fellowship students for sharing research challenges and insights, research presentation opportunities for valuable feedback, as well as attendance at the Eck Institute’s Global Health Speaker Series events.
Botchway said, “Anyone who is working on dissertation research that's linked to health can apply to this funding program. We welcome applications from across the entire university, and I encourage any interested candidates to reach out to me to learn more.”
To learn more about the Eck Institute’s Ph.D. Fellowship program, please visit: https://globalhealth.nd.edu/education/PhD/. The next application cycle will begin in spring 2027.
Contact:
Damienne Jugovic, Research Communications Specialist
Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame
djugovic@nd.edu
research.nd.edu / @UNDResearch
About the Eck Institute for Global Health
The Eck Institute for Global Health, an integral part of Notre Dame Research, builds on the University’s historical strength in infectious disease research, including vector-borne diseases, while broadening the interdisciplinary expertise into other key global health areas including non-communicable diseases; maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH); and global health security. The Eck Institute recognizes health as a fundamental human right and promotes research, training, and service to advance health standards and reduce health disparities, especially for those who are disproportionately impacted by preventable diseases. The Eck Institute is training the next generation of global health researchers and leaders through undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral programs.