Gift establishes fellowship for global medicine

A gift and commitment from Atul Dhablania and his wife Incha Kim to the Keck School of Medicine of USC will advance global medicine research and health-care professional training and delivery.
“I am exceptionally grateful for this gift that will establish a unique fellowship program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC,” said Dean Carmen A. Puliafito, MD, MBA. “There are no boundaries between countries when it comes to illness, and this generous gift from the Dhablania and Kim family will provide unique experiences for members of the Keck community to study this firsthand.”
The Dhablania and Kim Family Global Medicine Fellowship program will benefit the USC community and its worldwide outreach, supporting medically related research and training in global medicine and health among USC’s graduate students, medical students, residents, faculty and health-care professionals.
The funding will promote equality of health around the globe by providing a new avenue for training and research among the USC community. The first fellowships will be awarded via a competitive application process in summer 2015. It is anticipated that recipients will travel to multiple continents to gain insight into health and wellness outside the United States.
Associate Dean Elahe Nezami, PhD, associate professor of clinical preventive medicine, will serve as inaugural chair of the fellowship committee that will review and make recommendations regarding applicants, who may initiate the process by contacting her directly via USC email. The donors personally selected Nezami in recognition of her dedication and commitment to global medical education.
“This significant gift from Atul Dhablania and Incha Kim reflects their visionary understanding of the directions in which globalization and technology are moving health and health care in our world,” Nezami said. “Their exceptional generosity will allow the Keck School to lead the way in educating and training students, researchers and clinicians about the importance of health care in a global context — and to better serve humanity’s needs.”
The funding will help the Keck School advance its educational mission, Nezami said, and it places USC “squarely at the forefront of global health education. Mr. Dhablania and Ms. Kim truly recognize that the Keck School has much to share with the world, and that the world, in turn, has much to teach us.”