Research Resident Nichole Starr, M.D., MPH Awarded NIH Fogarty Global Health Scholars Fellowship
Nichole Starr, M.D., MPH, a general surgery research resident, was awarded an NIH Fogarty Global Health Scholars Fellowship for the 2020-21 year. Dr. Starr will spend her fellowship year at Addis Ababa University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the mentorship of Milliard Derbew, M.D., Tom Weiser, M.D., MPH, Andi Tenner, M.D., MPH, and Doruk Ozgediz, M.D., MSc. Her research will focus on building and implementing trauma quality improvement programs in Ethiopian public hospitals. Dr. Starr’s team will establish trauma registries at three hospitals in the city of Addis Ababa to collect and examine data on injuries, build confidence in the quality of data, as well as organize a committed group of Ethiopian clinicians to implement changes in clinical practice, prehospital care systems, and rehab and prevention programs. Reliable data is the entry point to building stronger trauma systems; the ultimate goal of Dr. Starr’s work is to reduce unnecessary deaths from injury.
Dr. Starr’s areas of interest are academic global surgery, surgical quality improvement and infection prevention, and strengthening trauma-care systems in resource limited environments, as well as trauma-induced coagulopathy and platelet function in injured patients. Dr. Starr served in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia from 2007-2009, and has previously worked in Ethiopia, Brazil and Liberia on health services research and improving care for HIV/AIDS, TB, and surgical quality improvement. She currently sits on the Ethiopian Ministry of Health National Trauma Working Group and is an affiliate of the UCSF WHO Collaborating Centre for Emergency and Trauma Care. About her upcoming year she states "I'm grateful for the opportunity as a Fogarty Global Health Fellow to continue our work in Ethiopia improving trauma and emergency surgical care for the injured. This work is foundational to my career goals as a future academic global trauma surgeon and I'm excited to forge ahead!"