GEOHealth Hub:
A Global Occupational and Environmental Health Research and Training Hub for Southeast Asia (SEAsia) with a Focus on Agricultural Health
Training Program for Improving Agricultural Health in Southeast Asia
A US National Institute of Health (NIH) funded program
TRAINING PROGRAM APPLICATIONS NOW ON HOLD FOR 2021
The Mahidol University and University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Work Environment Nutrition and Human Development (CWEND) are focused on developing a center of research excellence to improve agricultural health in Southeast Asia through a paired research and training grant program funded by US National Institutes of Health (NIH).
THEME OF RESEARCH TRAINING: Within Thailand, over 40% of the working population is in agriculture despite the increasing industrialization of the economy, similar statistics exist throughout Southeast Asia. Selected research fellows will gain experience in the development of evidence based policies for the improvement of the health of agricultural workers and the protection of the community and the environment from the negative impacts of some agricultural practices. A key current focus is the topic of metabolic disorders, including stroke, diabetes and coronary heart disease that are on the rise in Thailand. Our research hypothesis is that Thai farm families are at increased risk of metabolic disorders and endocrine function disruption through the use of common pesticides. Your research can be an extension of this work or can be in other topics related to agricultural health. You can contact Dr Kongtip or Dr Woskie to discuss further.
Trainees to go to US
RESEARCH TRAINING OPPORTUNITY: Trainees will work with a Home Country and US mentor to conduct an agricultural health research project and develop a strong collaborative research team. Trainees will start their 1.5 year training period by participating in a 2 week training in Agricultural Health issues at Mahidol University, then go to the US to work with their US Mentor for 4-6 months. Upon returning to their home country, they will complete data collection, analysis and manuscript writing in collaboration with their US and home country mentors. The traineeship includes: travel costs and living stipend for the US trip; research costs of up to $15,000 USD; travel for the home country mentor to come to the US while the trainee is resident; travel for the US mentor to trainee’s University during the research period; travel for the trainee to return to the US at the end of the project to complete manuscripts, develop new research projects and to expand the research team.
HOW TO APPLY FOR RESEARCH TRAINING: To apply for the traineeship you must: 1) be a junior faculty/staff at a GEOHealth Hub partner university; 2) have graduated with a doctoral degree (e.g., MD, PhD, DrPH, DEng or ScD), less than 6 years ago, 3) have good English skills (TOEFL 550 or IELTS 6.5 or graduate degree from an English speaking country) 4) have permission of your department head to participate and 5) propose an occupational or environmental health research project focused on agricultural health;.
In-Country Trainees
We are seeking junior faculty or staff at government Ministries interested in doing research in agricultural health related topics. You will have a GEOHealth Hub mentor from Mahidol University in Thailand and one from the US. You will meet regularly with your mentors via Skype to develop a research project which will be must be conducted during 2019 with submission of manuscripts by 2020. All human research will have to be approved by an NIH approved University Ethical Committee, such as Mahidol University. Funding of up to $13,000 will cover meetings with your mentors and your research project.
HOW TO APPLY FOR RESEARCH TRAINING: To apply for the traineeship you must: 1) be a junior faculty/staff at a GEOHealth Hub partner university; 2) have graduated with a doctoral degree (e.g., MD, PhD, DrPH, DEng or ScD), less than 6 years ago, 3) have good English skills (TOEFL 550 or IELTS 6.5 or graduate degree from an English speaking country) 4) have permission of your department head to participate and 5) propose an occupational or environmental health research project focused on agricultural health;.
Doctoral Student In-Country Trainees
We are seeking doctoral students in the proposal preparation stage or with approved proposals in the area of agricultural health*. The main advisor must be a GEOHealth Hub mentor or Administrative Oversight Committee Member. We are especially interested in doctoral students from other SE Asian
universities or government ministries who are in a doctoral program at Mahidol University, however this is not a requirement. For full-time students, there will be funds for research ($17850) to cover the thesis defense fee (150,000b ) and the research fee (300,000b plus up to an additional 120,000b) if
these costs are not covered already by other funding sources.
HOW TO APPLY FOR RESEARCH TRAINING: Doctoral students in the proposal preparation stage or with approved proposals in the
area of agricultural health.The research topic must be in agricultural health and their research must be conducted during 2019-2020, with submission of manuscripts by 2021. Since this is part of the GEOHealth Hub program, a US GEOHealth Hubmentor from UMass Lowell, Rutgers or Mt Sinai must be included on trainees research commitee.
Questions can be sent to: Dr. Pornpimol Kongtip at Mahidol (Pornpimol.Kon@mahidol.ac.th) or Dr. Susan Woskie at UMass Lowell (Susan_Woskie@uml.edu) or to CWEND.Geohealth@gmail.com
Read about our Research Program to evaluate the risk of metabolic disorders from exposure to pesticides.
Read about our Training Program to expand the research capacity of the GEOHealth Hub. See a partial list of Training Mentors.
A Factsheet on the training program is also available.