Sydney Blackston
Undergraduate Student in the School of Nursing
"Effects of Climate Change in Ghana"; Faculty Mentor: Jessica Kritz, assistant professor in the Department of Global Health
Maeve McKean Global Health Award
Through the Maeve McKean Global Health Award, the undergraduate McKean fellow spends their junior year on campus working to advance a faculty member’s research and is awarded $6,500 to conduct their own research anywhere in the world the summer before their senior year. The award is jointly administered by the Global Health Institute and the Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service at Georgetown University.
About Maeve McKean
Maeve McKean (G/L’09) was the executive director of the Georgetown University Global Health Initiative (now the Georgetown University Global Health Institute) and associate director of the HIV Policy Lab at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law from July 2019 until her death in April 2020. A public health and human rights lawyer, her work focused on the intersection of global health and human rights. McKean graduated from Georgetown University with a joint J.D. degree from Georgetown Law and a master of science degree in international negotiations and conflict resolution from the Walsh School of Foreign Service. Her legacy will be embraced and extended by each successive award recipient.
About the Maeve McKean Global Health Award
During the fall and spring semesters of their junior year, the McKean fellow is matched with a faculty mentor as part of the Global Health Institute Student Fellows Program. The fellow works between five to ten hours each week advancing a faculty mentor’s research project and receives hourly compensation. During this time, the McKean fellow is expected to develop their own summer research project proposal on a global health and human rights issue and receive clearance by the university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).
During the summer before their senior year, the McKean fellow receives $5,000 for travel, lodging, meals, or sustenance to conduct their research anywhere in the world (subject to International Travel Committee approval). The McKean fellow must commit at least eight weeks to research (fieldwork/data collection, analysis, writing) during the summer. The research project must:
- have clearly defined research goals that serve to advance global health and human rights;
- include fieldwork that must be conducted in an empathetic manner;
- engage local cultures and peoples; and
- be conducted with the intent of peer-reviewed publication.
During the fall semester of their senior year, the McKean fellow submits a five-page summary report outlining their work and conclusions, and the faculty mentor must approve the project. The McKean fellow receives the final $1,500 upon the successful completion of the research project. In addition, the McKean fellow has the opportunity to present their project at the Global Social Justice Research Symposium, held annually in September.
Application Process for the 2024-2025 Award
The 2024-2025 award application is now closed.
The completed application must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 14, 2024.
A View Only version of the application is available here.
Finalist interviews will be held in July 2024. The award recipient will be announced early August 2024. No late applications can be accepted.
Eligibility
All full-time Georgetown undergraduates who are rising juniors are eligible to apply for the 2024-2025 award. Applicants must be in good academic standing and enrolled at Georgetown in the spring 2025 and fall 2025 semesters.
Questions
If you have any questions about your application, its submission, or the Maeve McKean Global Health Award, please contact globalhealth@georgetown.edu.
Donations
If you are interested in supporting the Maeve McKean Global Health Award, you can do so with a donation.
- Online: Please use this online donation form and add a note in the "Other" field indicating it is "to support Maeve McKean Global Health Award."
- By mail: Donations may be made by sending a check made payable to Georgetown University (add a note: "to support Maeve McKean Global Health Award"). Mail it to Georgetown University, Gift Processing, Department Number 0734, Washington, DC 20073-0734.
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