Global Surgery Fellowship | UC Davis Health

Our mission is to train future leaders in global surgery research, capacity building, and quality improvement. The UC Davis Global Surgery Research Fellowship is a one-year program intended for surgery and anesthesia residents who are interested in exploring careers focused on improving surgical care in low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs). Residents enrolled in UC Davis training programs or from LMICs are encouraged to apply.

The program provides a comprehensive curriculum that includes mentorship in career development and comprehensive training in key research areas relevant to global surgery research, such as methodologies, grantsmanship, and ethical conduct of global research. Furthermore, fellows will have the opportunity to participate in clinical, research, and surgical education initiatives within our network of international collaborators.The fellowship program is individualized to support each participant’s unique career goals and presents an excellent avenue for aspiring global surgery professionals to build their knowledge, skills, and expertise in this exciting and rapidly evolving field.

The UC Davis Global Surgery Research Fellows are provided support in various areas including:

• Mentorship from UC Davis Center for Global Surgery faculty members
• Training program curriculum based on the UC Davis Global Surgery competency framework
• Tailored involvement opportunities within the UC Davis Global Surgery community to enhance their learning, build experience, and participate in global surgery projects
• Opportunities to increase the visibility of their work
• Access to a worldwide network of colleagues, mentors, and mentees

Fellows will base their year around designing and carrying out a global surgery research project. They will play key roles in the ongoing projects and activities of the UC Davis Center for Global Surgery. The fellowship is broadly structured as follows:

• 1 year duration
• Non-ACGME
• Cohort of 1-2 fellows per year
• Weekly meeting with fellowship director
• Regular meetings with members of research and clinical mentorship team
• Monthly Fellows Seminar provided by UC faculty, international guest speakers, and collaborator lectureships
• Research training curriculum with regular didactics on global surgery ethics, statistics, and research methodology, accompanied by key reading assignments
• Quarterly Journal Club and monthly works-in-progress meetings

Jeanine Justiniano, M.D. is a fourth year general surgery resident at UC Davis Medical Center.  She grew up in Providence, RI, daughter of Bolivian immigrants. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Providence College. She then obtained her medical degree at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Dr. Justiniano has had many opportunities in global health and global surgery both within the United States and abroad. As a college student, she went to the Solomon Islands for a summer of service at the Kilu-ufi Referral Hospital in Auki, Malaita Island. While a medical student, she spent a summer in Holon, Israel volunteering at Save a Child’s Heart at Wolfson Medical Center where they offer life saving heart surgery to children all over the world born with congenital heart disease. She has also done many projects relating to global health in her own community, volunteering at free health clinics in Chicago for a year as a medical student, and working with pediatric surgeons dedicated to research in global surgery.

Dr. Justiniano wants to integrate her passion for operating with her desire to give back to under-resourced communities and is committed to patient advocacy and analyzing critical health disparity issues that plague underserved patient populations.

Fellowship start: July of each calendar year (12 months).
Dates for the upcoming application cycle will be announced soon!
Please submit application material and any question to globalsurgery@ucdavis.edu.

1.  Please submit CV
2. Personal Statement (Do not exceed 1000 words)

• Please describe career goals relative to global surgery.
• Describe previous involvement with relevant coursework, clinical work, research, program, or policy development.
• Describe your interest in mentored research training and how you will benefit from the fellowship.
• Provide an outline of career development plan, including expected courses and mentoring plan.

3. Research Proposal (Do not exceed 1000 words)

• Please provide a concise overview of a global surgery research proposal, which should include the goal or hypothesis, aims, and a summary of the methodological approach. Additionally, please outline a timeline indicating what you intend to achieve within 12 months, and explain the feasibility of the study with the timeframe provided.