Global Health

The Global Health Track for Pediatric Residents at the University of Wisconsin is designed to foster personal and individualized growth. Through the track, we aim to develop physician leaders who will have the skills, knowledge, and desire to improve the health of children worldwide.

Components of the Global Health Track

Residents enrolled in the track are assigned global health mentors who will help guide them throughout the course of their residency training, connecting them with the resources available via the broader university to help them meet their personal goals. While core elements exist within the track, residents are encouraged to tailor the curriculum to meet their individual needs.

An educational cornerstone of the track is a 2-week Fundamentals in Global Child Health course. During this protected time, residents in the track will spend time focusing on many of the issues that are central to global child health. Other key elements of the track include monthly small-group evening sessions ranging in content from journal clubs to cultural activities, residency program-wide afternoon educational sessions with global health content, customized global health electives when appropriate, involvement in cross-campus global health events and seminars, global health advocacy/community involvement, and local or international global health electives. The Global Health Track curriculum emphasizes cultural humility, responsible and ethical practices, and collaboration with colleagues.

The Greater University Picture

Our residency offers you a unique opportunity to be connected to a large, internationally-active, undergraduate and graduate campus. The School of Medicine & Public Health has been the home for the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Global Health (CGH). The Center for Global Health began as a collaborative effort of the University of Wisconsin’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, and the Division of International Studies. The Center for Global Health recently joined forces with a campus-wide Global Health Initiative to form the University of Wisconsin Global Health Institute. The UW Global Health Institute spans the entire University of Wisconsin campus and serves to bring faculty and students across all disciplines together to address health care, food security and sustainable agriculture, water and sanitation, environmental sustainability, and “one health” perspectives that integrate the health of humans, animals and the environment. The UW Global Health Institute aims to address the intertwined root (or upstream) causes of ill health across sectors to discover more sustainable strategies for human well-being. These networks provide a resident with the opportunity to work with and learn from professionals across the University campus from a wide array of disciplines.

Applying for the Global Health Track

Following Match Day, all incoming residents will have the opportunity to apply for the Global Health Track. In an effort to maximize potential exposure, residents will be selected and begin participating in the track during their intern year.

The track serves to enrich the training experience of residents interested in global health and has the ability to meet the needs of a variety of residents: from those who desire to gain a new perspective on the health of children worldwide to those who plan to have a career centered in global health work. Highly motivated, self-driven, and intellectually curious residents with a passion for global health will be exceptionally successful in this program.

Global Health Track Leaders
Sabrina M. Butteris, MD Dr. Butteris is the Director of the Pediatric Global Health Track. She is a pediatric hospitalist whose work within global health focuses on curriculum development and education in the US and abroad, strengthening of health systems via training of health care professionals, the use of simulation in resource-limited settings, culture shock and communication, and partnership development. Dr. Butteris coordinates the UW Department of Pediatrics partnership with Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (a partnership aimed at strengthening pediatric emergency and trauma care in Ethiopia). Additionally, she oversees the UW Graduate Medical Education global health elective process.
Laura M. Houser, MD Dr. Houser is the Associate Director of the Pediatric Global Health Track. She is a general pediatrician at the UW Health East Clinic. Her focus within global health is on implementation of neonatal resuscitation and improving newborn care. Her primary region of focus is Haiti.
Cathy Lee-Miller, MD Dr. Lee-Miller is one of the current Pediatric Chief Residents and a Global Health Chief Resident. After completing her chief resident year, she will be entering fellowship in hematology-oncology. She completed global health experiences during medical school to Poland, Mali and India and is hoping to travel next to Haiti. She plans to pursue a career involving pediatric subspecialty teaching and education in international settings.
Erin Turner, MD Dr. Turner is one of the current Pediatric Chief Residents and a Global Health Chief Resident. During her residency, she participated in a local global health experience at the International Adoption Clinic in Minneapolis, MN and received an AAP CATCH grant with her fellow Global Health track resident members to teach health literacy to the local Bhutanese refugees. She plans to pursue a career in hospital-based medicine with a focus on serving patients and teaching in resource-limited settings.

Core Global Health Faculty
Ann Behrmann, MD Dr. Behrmann is a general pediatrician at Group Health Cooperative. She has decades of experience in the field of global health and serves on the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on International Child Health. She has been actively involved in the UW’s Center for Global Health and served in an advisory role for the Center for Global Health’s Steering Committee.
James H. Conway, MD Dr. Conway is a pediatric infectious disease specialist. His primary work within global health centers on vaccine-preventable diseases and community-based public health programs aimed at improving vaccine delivery. His region of concentration in his vaccine work has been East Africa. Dr. Conway is the Associate Director for Health Sciences for the University of Wisconsin Global Health Institute.
Gregory P. DeMuri, MD Dr. Demuri is a pediatric infectious disease specialist and general pediatrician. He practices general pediatrics at Access Community Health Clinic, a clinic that serves an under-served population in Madison. He has combined his expertise in infectious disease and general pediatrics globally in both Kazakstan and Cuba.
Scott A. Hagen, MD Dr. Hagen is a pediatric intensivist. He has worked with cardiac critical care teams and in pediatric intensive care settings providing education and patient care in Uganda, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Peru.

Graduates

Ben Hanisch (2011) – Pediatric Infectious Disease fellow at the University of Minnesota. He is exploring options for his fellowship research including global health related research.

Katie Baker (2011) – After finishing her global health chief resident year, Katie and her husband, Dr. Jeff Yaeger moved to Shiprock, New Mexico, to work for the Indian Health Service on the Navajo Reservation.

Laura Houser (2010) – General pediatrician at the UW Health East Clinic and Associate Director of the Global Health Track. Her focus within global health is on implementation of neonatal resuscitation and improving newborn care. Her primary region of focus is Haiti.

Dan Olson (2010) – Following graduation, Dan completed a Fogarty Fellowship in Malawi where he undertook work doing research on Ebstein Barr Virus. He is currently an Infectious Disease fellow in Denver, Colorado.

Lisa Umphrey (2010) – Upon completion of residency, Lisa moved to Uganda to become the Field Operations/Clinic Manager, supervising pediatrician, and Medical Rotational Program Director for a NGO. During her time in Uganda, she has developed a successful model for delivering high quality primary care in rural areas in Uganda and is currently working to disseminate her "Station" model as a consultant. Learn More about Lisa's Efforts

Jeff Yaeger (2010) – Jeff completed his chief year and worked as a National Research Service Award fellow. After pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Health training, he and his wife, Dr. Katie Baker, moved to Shiprock, New Mexico, to work for the Indian Health Service on the Navajo Reservation.

Current Global Health Track Residents

Halie M. Anderson, MD	Katie T. Carlberg, MD	Desire M. Hurst, MD	Evan F. Kemp, MD, MPH
Andrew J. Lewandowski, DO	Leslie M. Riopel, MD	Robert B. Strait, MD	Hilary E. Stempel, MD
Matthew A. Szadkowski, MD	Sarah A. Webber, MD