Fellowships

Fellowships are a powerful tool for academic institutions to nurture talent, drive innovation, and empower emerging leaders. Our fellowship programs offer valuable opportunities for post-docs, global health leaders, and Harvard junior faculty to advance their careers, receive expert mentorship, and connect with Harvard’s diverse community of health professionals.

HGHI Burke Fellowships

The 2025-2026 application is NOW OPEN. Apply by January 31st, 2025 at 5pm EST. For eligibility requirements, see the details below. To start your application, press the button.

The Fellowships are made possible through the generous support of Harvard alumna Katherine States Burke, AB’79, and her husband, T. Robert Burke, who established the Burke Fund to help launch and advance the careers of promising scholars and researchers in global health. Through the Burkes’ generosity, HGHI has funded over 50 Burke Global Health Fellows since 2009.

For questions about the HGHI Burke Global Health Fellowship, please email HGHI_fellowships@harvard.edu.

HGHI Burke Global Health Fellowship Alumni Thumbnail

Hear from our alumni on their experiences as an HGHI Burke Global Health Fellow!


Types of Awards

HGHI-Salata Burke Climate and Health Fellowship

For post-doctoral scholars

In partnership with the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, the Harvard Global Health Institute is offering a 2-year fellowship program for eligible research fellows, post-doctoral scholars, and early career faculty pursuing scholarly research at the intersection of climate change and global health. During their fellowship, HGHI-Salata Burke Climate and Health Fellows will work closely with a Harvard faculty mentor in any school or department on their proposed research project.

Award Details
  • Salary of $75,000 per year for two years to support scholarship related to climate change and global health.
  • Recipients will also receive funding for professional development, including up to $3,000 toward publishing in an open-access journal once during the fellowship, and up to $5,000 towards attending a research conference or networking event that enhances research networks and/or research skills and knowledge.
Eligibility Requirements
  • Candidates must have a minimum of a doctoral degree.
  • Candidates must be within the first 5 years of their career.
  • Candidates must have a clear climate change/human health focus in their proposed research.
  • Candidates must secure a commitment from one Harvard faculty member to serve as a research mentor.
  • Candidates must commit at least 75% FTE effort to their research for the 2-year program.

Candidates who apply and do not meet the eligibility criteria above will not be considered for this fellowship.

Fellow Expectations
  • Participate in relevant Harvard Global Health Institute and Salata Institute scheduled events.
  • Participate in Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) bi-weekly fellow dinners and other HUCE scheduled activities throughout the year.
  • Submit an annual progress report and a scholarly paper (e.g., peer-reviewed publication) to the Harvard Global Health Institute and the Salata Institute.
  • Present research findings and accomplishments achieved as a result of HGHI Burke funding to the global health community at the end of their fellowship.
  • Acknowledge HGHI-Salata Burke funding in all award letters and event communications, including invitation letters, websites, announcements, flyers, press releases, presentations, publications, and reports.
  • Serve as a reviewer for future applicants to the fellowship.
Harvard Faculty Mentor

Potential candidates should start early to identify and establish a relationship with a Harvard faculty member to host their research. In agreeing to be a host, the faculty member is making a significant commitment to the candidate and their proposed research.  

HGHI does not help facilitate relationships between applicants and Harvard faculty during the application process. Applicants unfamiliar with Harvard faculty members will find many potential hosts, though far from all, listed on the HGHI Global Health Hub organized both by academic areas and topics. Applicants are responsible for obtaining a Harvard Faculty Mentor who’s department will serve as the administrative home for the HGHI-Salata Climate Fellow.

Expectations for the Mentor are the following:

  • Sponsoring mentor must be a Harvard faculty member (Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor).
  • Sponsoring mentor must demonstrate expertise to support the applicant’s area of research.
  • Sponsoring mentor must submit a letter of support (maximum of two pages) to the selection committee describing in detail the level of commitment to the research and the candidate. Applications without this letter of support will not be considered.
  • The sponsoring mentor’s Harvard department must administratively credential and house their mentee.
  • The sponsoring mentor must allow and expect their mentee to commit 75% FTE for the 2-year program.

HGHI Burke Global Health Fellowship

For junior faculty at Harvard University

The HGHI Burke Global Health Fellowship is a 12-month program that provides funding for research and curriculum development.  

Award Details

There are two categories of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellowship awards:

Research Award: $75,000 each

Research awards provide opportunities for junior Harvard faculty to conduct foundational research that prepares them to be independent investigators or to conduct exploratory work on groundbreaking questions seldom supported by traditional funding sources.

Curriculum Development Award: $25,000 each

Curriculum Development awards provide funding for junior Harvard faculty to apply innovative pedagogy to course development and teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level.

Recipients of the HGHI Burke Fellowships will also receive funding for professional development, including up to $3,000 toward publishing in an open-access journal once during the fellowship, and up to $5,000 towards attending a research conference or networking event that enhances research networks and/or research skills and knowledge.

Eligibility Requirements
  • Candidates must hold a junior faculty appointment at Harvard University (i.e. Instructor or Assistant Professor).  
  • Faculty working in disciplines outside of medicine and life sciences are strongly encouraged to apply so long as the work falls within global health. 

Applicants who do not meet the eligibility requirements above will not be considered.  

Fellow Expectations
  • Participate in relevant Harvard Global Health Institute events.  
  • Submit a one-year progress report and a final reflection paper to the Harvard Global Health Institute. 
  • Present research findings and accomplishments achieved as a result of HGHI Burke funding to the global health community at the conclusion of their fellowship.  
  • Serve as a reviewer for future applicants to the fellowship. 
  • Acknowledge HGHI Burke funding in all award letters and event communications, including invitation letters, websites, announcements, flyers, press releases, presentations, publications, and reports.

Current and Past Fellows

Since its commencement, the HGHI Burke Fellowships have successfully sponsored groundbreaking research with individuals in the field of global health. You can read more about our past and current HGHI Burke Fellows by clicking on the different cohorts below.

2024 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Tess Wiskel
  • Chuan-Chin Huang
  • Jonathan Strong
  • Jacqueline Seiglie
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2024 Cohort of HGHI-Salata Burke Climate and Health Fellows

Colleen Lanier-Christensen

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2023 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, MD, MPH
  • Demetrice “Dee” Jordan, PhD, MPH
  • Maria Nardell, MD, MPH
  • Shela Sridhar, MD, MPH
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2023 Cohort of HGHI-Salata Burke Climate and Health Fellows
  • Annikki Herranen-Tabibi, PhD
  • Jenny Lee, PhD
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2022 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Jocelyn Kelly, PhD
  • Crystal North, MD, MPH
  • Pooja Chitneni, MD
  • Zahir Kanjee, MD, MPH
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2021 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Kavitha Ranganathan, MD
  • Matthew Gartland, MD
  • Oludare Odumade, MD, PhD
  • John Naslund, PhD
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2020 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Adeline A. Boatin, MD, MPH
  • Matthew Bonds, PhD
  • Dhruv S. Kazi, MD, MSc, MS
  • Elisabeth D. Riviello, MD, MPH
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2019 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Satchit Balsari, MBBS, MPH
  • Stéphane Verguet, MS, MPP, PhD
  • Ashley Whillans, PhD
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2018 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Maha Farhat, MD, MSc
  • Daniel Palazuelos, MD, MPH
  • Giuseppe J. Raviola, MD, MPH
  • Eugene Richardson, PhD, MD, MA
  • Renee N. Salas, MD, MPH, MS
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2017 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Jose F. Figueroa, MD, MPH
  • Lindsay Jaacks, PhD
  • Gautam Rao, PhD, MS
  • Gustavo E. Velásquez, MD, MPH
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2016 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Margaret Bourdeaux, MD, MPH
  • Lydia Pace, MD, MPH
  • Alexander Tsai, MD, PhD
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2015 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Bethany Hedt-Gauthier, PhD
  • Ingrid T. Katz, MD, MHS
  • Rajesh Panjabi, MD, MPH
  • Pardis Sabeti, MD, DPhil
  • Jennifer Scott, MD, MBA, MPH
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2012 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Nava Ashraf, PhD
  • Jessica Cohen, PhD
  • Jennifer Kasper, MD, MPH
  • Jane Kim, PhD, MSc
  • Danny Milner, MD, MSc
  • Rebecca Weintraub, MD
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2011 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Joshua Salomon, PhD
  • Daniel Shapiro, PhD
  • Kim Wilson, MD
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2009 Cohort of HGHI Burke Global Health Fellows
  • Ingrid Bassett, MD, MPH
  • Marcia Caldas de Castro, PhD
  • Arachu Castro, PhD, MPH
  • Hongtu Chen, PhD
  • Manoj Duraisingh, PhD
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