The University of Limerick School of Medicine has formed an international partnership with the University of Arizona to tackle public health challenges.
The Masters of Science in Public Health in the UL School of Medicine has entered into an international Memorandum of Agreement to enhance cooperation in research and academics with the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
The partnership will focus on areas of mutual interest through research collaboration, faculty, scholar and student exchanges, direct enrolment, and study abroad programs.
The agreement has been in the works since August of last year, when Dr Niamh Cummins, Lecturer in the School of Medicine at UL and Dr Gabriela Valdez, Director of Global Education and Assistant Professor in the Zuckerman College of Public Health, began crafting it.
The strategic goal of the partnership is to advance public health education, research and practice to address the health needs of diverse populations in both countries.
Dr Cummins explained: “I am delighted to lead this international collaboration with such an impressive partner on behalf of the School of Medicine. This partnership with the University of Arizona aligns with our work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals enabling us to position UL as an international leader in solving global health problems.”
“We are pleased to partner with the University of Limerick, especially as we both see the benefits of applied public health education,” said Iman Hakim, MD, PhD, Dean of the Zuckerman College of Public Health.
“I want to thank Dr Valdez and Dr Cummins for all the work they did to bring our institutions together for the greater good of public health.”
The initial collaboration will focus on exchanges of faculty and scholars for short- and long-term visits. The programs plan to collaborate on research, including developing formal research funding proposals.
Megan Bounds, a second-year graduate student in the Zuckerman College of Public Health, was the first student to participate in a research program at UL as part of the partnership.
Megan undertook a collaborative research project in the Ageing Research Centre, Health Research Institute over the summer co-supervised by Dr Cummins, Professor Rose Galvin, School of Allied Health and Louise Barry, Department of Nursing and Midwifery.
The research investigated the lived experience of patients utilising Emergency Departments across Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Megan said she was passionate about incorporating Public Health into Medicine and hopes to attend Medical School in the future.
Her experiences included meeting with students from the Public Health and Graduate Entry Medical programmes and working in the Clinical Education and Research Centre (CERC) at University Hospital Limerick.
“My time in Ireland was life-changing,” Megan said.
“I appreciated the University of Limerick’s help involving me in many opportunities on campus and around Ireland. They truly took an interest in and enhanced my experience abroad, taking into account my long-term interests and goals. Overall, the Irish people were some of the most kind and welcoming people I have ever met,” Megan added.
In alignment with the partnership, the School of Medicine is now offering a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to a US student. The Fulbright scholarship will allow the successful applicant to complete a fully funded Masters of Science in Public Health at UL, which offers a student-centered learning model with an emphasis on community and collaborative learning.
Dr. Cummins who is also leading the Scholarship initiative, said: “We believe in the vision of ‘Theory to Practice’ and the focus for our students is on competency-based learning, in order to embed transferable skills in public health, in addition to building knowledge.”
The Fulbright scholarship covers the costs of tuition and a student stipend for a 12-month period. The deadline to apply is October 11. For more information, visit the UL School of Medicine website or email mph@ul.ie.
