Professor Marvin Reid Visits the Global Health Academy and Northwell Health as Jamaica Becomes the Academy’s 10th Partner Country
The Global Health Academy was honored to welcome Professor Marvin Reid of The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, for a two-day visit to Connecticut and New York on September 1-2, 2026. The visit took place at a particularly meaningful moment: following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at the end of August, Jamaica has officially become the Global Health Academy’s 10th international partner country.
Professor Reid serves as Deputy Principal of UWI Mona Campus and Professor of Human Metabolism and Community Medicine. His visit provided an important opportunity to introduce him to the work of the Global Health Academy and the broader Northwell Health network, while beginning to identify practical areas of collaboration under the newly established partnership. Dr. Bulat Ziganshin, Executive Director of the Global Health Academy, and Dr. Sandra Lindsay, Vice President of Public Health Advocacy at Northwell Health, accompanied Professor Reid throughout both days of the visit.
A Day at the Global Health Academy and Danbury Hospital
The first day began at the Global Health (GH) Academy in Danbury, Connecticut, where Professor Reid met members of the Academy’s core team and toured its offices and media studio. The team provided a comprehensive introduction to the Academy’s programs, international partnerships, and educational mission.
Dr. Ziganshin opened the meeting with an overview of the Academy and the development of its international partner network. Members of the core team then presented several major areas of the Academy’s work. Anastasia Zholud discussed international global health electives for medical students and residents, while Dr. Dilyara Nurkhametova and Carolyn Guarino described the Global Health Scholars Program and its role in supporting reciprocal educational exchange. Dr. Elina Mukhametshina highlighted the Academy’s special projects, and Amanda Wallace and Sean Nuremberg presented its growing portfolio of scholarly publications. The presentations were followed by an engaging discussion about opportunities to connect these programs with the priorities of UWI and its faculty and learners.
Professor Reid then toured Danbury Hospital with Dr. Matthew Barbery. The visit included the hospital’s Simulation Center and offered an opportunity to learn more about the clinical and educational environment in which Global Health Academy’s domestic programs are based.
During a working lunch, Professor Reid met with Dr. Aparna Oltikar, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chair of Medicine, Vice President for Global Health and Grace Linhard, Chief Development Officer. Their conversation provided perspectives from clinical, institutional, philanthropic, and public health leadership and explored how the new relationship with UWI could connect with the wider work of the GH Academy and Northwell Health.
In the afternoon, Professor Reid delivered a guest lecture titled “Addressing Jamaica’s Health Priorities Through a Global Health Lens.” Recorded in the Global Health Academy’s media studio for future distribution, the presentation offered valuable insight into Jamaica’s health landscape and highlighted areas in which international academic partnerships may support locally identified needs and priorities.
The day concluded with a focused working session on future collaboration. Discussions addressed the development of Jamaica as a Global Health Academy partner site, UWI’s major institutional and health priorities, the potential creation of a global health module for its Master of Public Health program, and opportunities for collaborative global health research. These conversations helped begin translating the new partnership into a practical agenda grounded in mutual priorities, reciprocity, and long-term institutional engagement.
Connecting With the Broader Northwell Health Network
On the second day, Professor Reid visited several Northwell Health institutions across Long Island. The day began at Northwell Health headquarters, where he met with Dr. Eric Cioe-Peña, Shari Jardine, and other team members from the Northwell Center for Global Health. The Northwell team shared an overview of its work in Guyana, while Professor Reid discussed his vision for establishing a School of Global Health at UWI. The meeting revealed several areas of shared interest and created an important connection between UWI and Northwell’s broader global health activities.
Professor Reid next visited Cohen Children’s Medical Center for a program organized by Dr. Banu Aygun and Dr. Jeffrey Lipton of the Department of Hematology and Oncology. During the visit, Professor Reid presented “Sickle Cell Disease in Jamaica: A Translational Journey,” sharing Jamaica’s extensive experience in sickle cell disease research and care.
His presentation was followed by “CCMC Experience on Gene Therapy for Hemoglobinopathies,” delivered by Dr. Banu Aygun and Dr. Michelle Lee. The complementary presentations created a valuable exchange around the continuum of sickle cell disease research and care -- from Jamaica’s longstanding population-based and translational experience to emerging gene therapy approaches at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. Professor Reid subsequently toured the medical center and met additional members of its faculty and staff, opening conversations about potential future clinical, educational, and research collaboration.
The afternoon continued at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. Professor Reid first visited Dr. Nehal Vadhan’s laboratory at Zucker Hillside Hospital and then toured the Feinstein Institutes, meeting research teams from several areas of investigation. These meetings included Dr. Chad Bouton and Dr. Eric H. Chang of the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, as well as Dr. Robert L. Furler O’Brien of the Institute for Translational Research. The discussions introduced Professor Reid to Northwell’s innovative biomedical and translational research programs and provided another opportunity to consider areas of shared scientific interest.
The two-day visit concluded with a dinner in New York City hosted by Dr. Varinder Singh, Senior Vice President for International and Global Health. The gathering offered an opportunity to reflect on the visit and continue discussions about the future of the partnership in a collegial setting.
Looking Ahead
Professor Reid’s visit represented an important early step in building the relationship between the Global Health Academy, the wider Northwell Health network, and The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus. Across the two days, discussions encompassed medical and public health education, student and faculty exchange, sickle cell disease, global health research, simulation-based education, translational science, and the development of Jamaica as a new international training site.
As Jamaica becomes the Academy’s 10th partner country, we look forward to working closely with Professor Reid and our colleagues at UWI to develop a collaborative program that reflects the needs and strengths of both institutions. We are deeply grateful to Professor Reid for making the visit and to the many Northwell Health and Global Health Academy colleagues who welcomed him, shared their expertise, and contributed to two highly productive days of conversation and exchange.
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