Better vaccines, nutrition and disease control have cut the global death rate for children in half over the past 20 years. But even within countries that have made major progress, children can face greatly different fates.

"Where you're born substantially impacts your probability of surviving to 5," says Simon Hay, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington who is the lead author of a new study on childhood mortality in Nature.

The Department of Global Health is committed to training health professionals from diverse communities and helping to fund the education of such students. Recipients are selected by committee based on academic merit, a deep personal experience with, and connection to, diverse cultures, and demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity within the field of global health.

That a professor of epidemiology could take part in an odd competition like weightlifting was sure to leave Kenyans’ mouths agape.

Added to the fact that the mother of four and grandmother of two is a few days shy of her 58th birthday (she was born on October 26, 1961, like President Uhuru Kenyatta), the result was an internet sensation.

That is why a photograph of Prof Elizabeth Bukusi, chief research officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), has been doing the rounds on social media in the past week.

As the academic year kicks into high gear, the Department of Global Health welcomes back students who recently conducted international fieldwork in global health. With work in Timor-Leste, Peru, South Africa, and more, these students share their stories (and photos!) from their time abroad.