Sixteen faculty-led projects have been selected to receive Penn Global research and engagement grants in 2025. The Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant Program, commonly known as the Penn Global Grant Program, supports new or established projects that use Penn research and expertise to advance knowledge in and of communities around the world. The grant program consists of the Holman Africa Research and Engagement Fund, the China and India Research and Engagement Funds, and the Global Engagement Fund. 

This year’s grantees are:

• Generative AI for Efficient and Equitable Healthcare on a Global Scale; Hamsa Bastani, Wharton School
• Adoption, Usage, and Optimal Financing of Electric Cookstoves; Susanna Berkouwer, Wharton School
• Global Lives of Medicine; Hsiao-wen Cheng, School of Arts & Sciences
• Cultural Adaptation of Digital HIV Intervention for Men Who Have Sex with Men in South Korea; Seul Ki Choi, School of Nursing
• Learning from U.S. and EU Approaches to Challenges in Modern Drug Regulation; Holly Fernandez Lynch, Perelman School of Medicine
• Latin American Economic History Book Project; Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, School of Arts & Sciences
• Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Behaviors: Developing Curriculum; Femida Handy, School of Social Policy & Practice
• Penn-NYU Shanghai Project on Preparing China’s Children for the Future; Emily Hannum, School of Arts & Sciences/Graduate School of Education
• The Lived Refugee and Immigrant Experience in Greece; Fariha Khan, School of Arts & Sciences, and Fernando Chang-Muy, Carey Law School
• Safer Cesarean Deliveries: A Train-the-Trainer Program in Tanzania; Victoria Mui, Perelman School of Medicine
• Efficacy of a Novel Pediatric Resuscitation Educational Intervention; Madiha Raees, Perelman School of Medicine
• Creating Research-Based Animated Videos About the Dutch Caribbean Islands; Simon Richter, School of Arts & Sciences
• Policy and Technical Methods for Global Critical Infrastructure Protection; Benjamin Schmitt, School of Arts & Sciences/Kleinman Center for Energy Policy
• Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Diabetic Retinopathy Care in South Africa; Michelle Sun, Perelman School of Medicine
• Climatic Hazards, Schooling, and Learning in Sub-Saharan Africa; Amrit Thapa, Graduate School of Education
• Transferable Clinical Algorithms from Medical Literature; Mark Yatskar, School of Engineering & Applied Science

“We are proud to support the important work led by our faculty and their commitment to global engagement,” said Amy Gadsden, Penn’s associate vice provost for global initiatives. “The strength of this year’s cohort reflects the breadth of actionable research and expertise across our faculty and demonstrates Penn’s reach and impact around the world.”

Ezekiel Emanuel, Penn’s vice provost for global initiatives, emphasized the importance of the grant program as a tool to lead on the great challenges of our time, a priority set forth by Penn’s strategic framework, In Principle and Practice.

“A top priority for our office—for over a decade now—has been to integrate knowledge across Penn,” said Vice Provost Emanuel. “That’s how we generate innovative solutions—we need to bring together faculty from different disciplines. We need that expertise and those experiences pooling together to spark fresh ideas. And that’s what this program is positioned to do: seed interdisciplinary initiatives that have enormous potential for addressing today and tomorrow’s biggest challenges.”