Dr. Wilson Rumbeiha Named Carnegie Fellow
Dr. Wilson K Rumbeiha from the Department of Molecular Biosciences in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine was awarded a fellowship by the Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program to travel to Rwanda to work with Dr. Kizito Nishimwe in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Rwanda on Strengthening One Health Education and Creation of a One Health Center of Excellence. Specifically Dr. Rumbeiha and Dr. Nishimwe will collaborate on research, develop curriculum, host workshops, etc. in One Environmental Health Toxicology.
The School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) – University of Rwanda, launched ten years ago, has initiated One Health activities under the Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN). Current activities focus on prevention of infectious and zoonotic diseases in humans, livestock, and wildlife. While infectious and zoonotic diseases occupy an important role in the One Health approach, there are missing pieces in the puzzle, e.g., environmental health toxicology. One Environmental Health Toxicology deals with effects of water, air, food and soil contaminants on human, animal, wildlife, and plant health.
As a Carnegie Fellow, Dr. Rumbeiha, Professor of One Environmental Health Toxicology at UC Davis – School of Veterinary Medicine will work with his host Dr. Kizito Nishimwe to incorporate environmental health toxicology into an updated One Health curriculum, explore joint research collaborations in this field, and lead the creation of the One Health Center of Excellence (OHCE). The project will have impact on both The University of Rwanda SVM and UC Davis. The University of Rwanda will gain an updated curriculum in One Health, newly cultivated research collaborations in One Health Toxicology, and e-Learning content. UC Davis will gain a global research partner and host for UC Davis students interested in study abroad programs.
The University of Rwanda project is one of 56 projects that will pair African Diaspora scholars with higher education institutions and collaborators in Africa to work together on curriculum co-development, collaborative research, graduate training, and mentoring activities in the coming months.
The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program, now in its fourth year, is designed to reverse Africa’s brain drain, strengthen capacity at the host institutions, and develop long-term, mutually-beneficial collaborations between universities in Africa and the United States and Canada. It is funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York and managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in collaboration with United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) in Nairobi, Kenya, which coordinates the activities of the Advisory Council. A total of 527 African Diaspora Fellowships have now been awarded for scholars to travel to Africa since the program’s inception in 2013.
Fellowships match host universities with African-born scholars and cover the expenses for project visits of between 14 and 90 days, including transportation, a daily stipend, and the cost of obtaining visas and health insurance.
See a full list of projects, hosts and scholars.