Our work

What we do and why it matters

CGHE’s work spans research support, global partnership, and technology innovation. This section is where you can explore our guiding frameworks, follow our funded projects, and find the evidence that health equity work done well creates measurable change.

How we think about our work

CGHE approaches global health equity as a practice, not a single project — built on rigorous research, genuine partnership, and a willingness to learn from what doesn't work as much as what does.

Our theory of Change

What We Do

Community vaccine hesitancy meeting in rural Africa with Rego Shah during research grant project

Two University of Michigan Center for Global Health Equity researchers talking with two Kenyan scientists

Impact scholar sharing prenatal and adolescent rubella in Nepal research work in front of poster at Center for Global Health Equity's annual community gathering event at the University of Michigan

Funding

We provide seed grants, pilot funding, and accelerator support to researchers and teams working to advance health for all. Our funding model prioritizes early-stage ideas with the potential for real-world impact in low-resourced settings around the world and here at home.

Explore Funding

Data collaborative research on a field walk in rural Africa

Eight members speaking on a panel at Center for Global Health Equity research symposium at University of Michigan

University of Michigan students work on laptops during Center for Global Health Equity summer internship

Student sharing their research work in front of poster at Center for Global Health Equity's annual community gathering event at the University of Michigan

Impact scholar sharing disparities in depression-tobacco comorbidity in Mexico research work in front of poster at Center for Global Health Equity's annual community gathering event at the University of Michigan

Programs

Our programs are designed to move research into practice and connect U-M expertise with global partners. Each program area reflects a different entry point into the center's broader health equity mission.

Our Programs

Three members chatting with each other at Center for Global Health Equity's annual community gathering event at the University of Michigan

Four members speaking on a panel at Global Health Equity research symposium at University of Michigan

Woman speaking at board meeting for Center for Global Health Equity at University of Michigan

Audience view of screen at Global Health Equity research symposium at University of Michigan

Community

Our member communities bring together researchers, clinicians, and practitioners around shared health challenges, from vaccine equity to global cancer care. Membership connects individuals to a network of collaborators working toward common goals across institutions and borders.

Explore Communities

Male cancer researcher looking at data samples in Kenya for CRC AI project photo by Dann Mchoraji

Female cancer researcher writing notes in Kenya for CRC AI project photo by Dann Mchoraji

Two cancer researchers processing data samples in Kenya for CRC AI project photo by Dann Mchoraji

Proof Points

These are stories of health equity research in motion — work that shows what's possible when people, partnerships, and technology come together in service of health for all. Some of these projects have already reached the communities they're meant to serve. Others are still underway. All of them point toward where we're headed.

Explore Proof Points

Testimonials

Name Surname

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Project

Program

"CGHE is the nucleating point — it identifies target institutions, target problems, and target investigators. It creates introductions and possibilities for collaborative projects that simply would not be possible otherwise."

- Ulysses Balis, Professor of Pathology, University of Michigan

"I have watched the center build something genuinely rare: a research enterprise grounded in the conviction that health equity is not a niche concern, but a defining challenge of our era."

- Julio Frenk, Chancellor of UCLA and Chair of the External Advisory Board, Center for Global Health Equity

"CGHE is a good illustration of how to enter into global health activities — how they are designed, how they manage the governance of those programs, and how they are implemented — so that people from low- and middle-income countries have a greater say."

- Nelson Sewankambo, Professor Emeritus and former Dean of Makerere Medical School, Uganda; member, External Advisory Board, Center for Global Health Equity

“From its beginnings, this center has embodied what happens when vision meets partnership. With the Yamada family’s gift, matched by the University, CGHE has become a hub for collaboration across disciplines and borders.”

- Laurie McCauley, Provost, University of Michigan

"CGHE has consistently valued and supported community-based approaches, which have been fundamental to our partnerships with housing movements and grassroots organizations. This commitment has been invaluable to ensuring our work's relevance and impact in the communities we serve."

- Ana Paula Pimentel Walker, PhD, Associate Professor, Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

"CGHE provided essential seed funding that helped us build our team and forge connections between architecture and urban planning experts and environmental health researchers. From the outset, CGHE recognized the importance of interdisciplinary research in this space."

- Ana Paula Pimentel Walker, PhD, Associate Professor, Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan

"CGHE is really a beacon to the aspiration to give back to communities you come from. It gives us access to people who've done this before us, so they can educate us about how best to go about our work."

- Arvind Rao, Professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of Michigan

"CGHE funding was absolutely instrumental in enabling foundational work for the Longitudinal Study of Health and Ageing in Kenya (LOSHAK), which ultimately resulted in $23.6M in NIH funding, and research that will transform our knowledge about health and aging in Kenya."

- Josh Ehrlich, Paul R. Lichter Research Professor, University of Michigan

Keep Exploring

Projects database

Proof points

Member directory