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Burke Fellowship

Burke Fellowship Alumni Gather for a Weekend of Writing, Reflection, and Community

Group of Burke Fellows and Daniel P. in the middle talking with his hands.
Burke Fellows engage in a collaborative writing session, with 2018 cohort member Daniel Palazuelos, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine at HMS/BWH, speaking to the group.

Last week, 10 Burke Fellowship alumni spanning 2009 – 2021 cohort years came together for the inaugural Burke Fellowship Alumni Writing Retreat at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Over three days, Alumni gained new insights for effective academic writing with a writing coach and had dedicated time away from busy schedules to advance their individual writing projects, while deepening their connections across cohorts.

“The most enjoyable part of the retreat was dedicated writing time where I felt accountable,” one of the participants commented. “It was valuable to hear from the writing coach and my peers about how they manage their writing, while also connecting with other global health researchers.”

The retreat featured one-on-one coaching sessions with Dr. Jamie M. Robertson, Senior Research Scientist at the STRATUS Center for Medical Simulation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, where she provided individualized guidance on writing strategy, clarity, and academic storytelling, drawing on her extensive experience teaching programs for healthcare professionals, including Foundations of Clinical Research, the Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program, and Effective Writing for Health Care. She also led the interactive session, “Finding Time to Write: Strategies and Opportunities”, to help fellows brainstorm and strategize together to develop their own actionable plans for the coming months.

The writing retreat offered group discussions, accountability hours, and peer mentoring, allowing the fellows to exchange ideas, support one another’s progress, and continue to cultivate a vibrant community of global health scholars.

The HGHI Burke Fellowships are made possible through the generosity of Katherine States Burke, AB ’79, and T. Robert Burke. Since 2009, the Burke Fund has supported more than 50 early-career scholars and researchers working to improve global health systems, advance equity, and drive evidence-based change worldwide.

Applications are currently open for Burke Fellowships. To learn more and apply, please visit our Burke Fellowship page.