Global Health Sciences announced today the selection of De’Broski Herbert, PhD, as the next UCSF Burke Family Global Health Scholar. The Burke Scholar program was created in 2009 with a gift from Bob and Kathy Burke to help build the pipeline for the next generation of global health scientists and educators by investing in talented young investigators who are engaged in innovative research.

With the aim of better integrating the basic science community with GHS, the latest application cycle was intended for junior faculty members whose research focuses on basic science and its applications in global health.

Herbert is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Experimental Medicine. His research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of parasitic helminth infection. He will receive a three-year total of $120,000 that will help advance his studies on the regulation of Trefoil proteins in hookworm infection, which affects more than 740 million people worldwide. These studies are in collaboration with laboratories in Minas Gerais, Brazil, a region that is endemic for multiple soil-transmitted helminth infections.

Burke Scholars also provide mentorship to students and trainees and are able to develop a long-term relationship as GHS faculty. Enthusiastic to share his knowledge about parasites, Herbert will be training the next generation of scientists and clinicians who are committed to tropical disease research.