Upstate Medical University

International Research Sites

Thailand

For the past 40 years, past and present SUNY researchers have collaborated on research projects in Kamphaeng Phet Province, located in northern Thailand, 220 miles north of Bangkok. The province, consisting of 11 districts with approximately 700,000 people, largely working in agricultural occupations (rice/tapioca, banana farming), with flat plains geography in the east and mountain ranges in the west. 

A pivotal partner in clinical research is Kamphaeng Phet Provincial Hospital (KPPH), a 414-bed hospital that provides tertiary inpatient care and is the sole government-referral provincial hospital in the province.  KPPH and its collaborative partners hold a rich history of tropical disease research, including seminal vaccine trials for hepatitis A and Japanese encephalitis as well as clinical studies on transmission and pathogenesis of endemic vector borne viral diseases.

Songkhla Province is 600 miles from Bangkok in southern Thailand, close to the Thai-Malaysia border. Located along the Gulf of Thailand, the capital city, Songkla, was a coastal trading port. Upstate researchers have been involved with projects in the interior or the province, in rural communities surrounding the city of Hat Yai and have focused on epidemiology of dengue and chikungunya.

Kenya

Maseno University School of Medicine (MUSOM), which opened in 2012, is a growing resource for the region, working to train physicians to meet the growing demand for healthcare services across Kenya.

Maseno University School of Medicine has clinical training facilities at Jaramogi Odinga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital and Obama Children's Hospital.  There are currently medical students, intern medical officers, and residents being trained at these facilities.

Jamaica

University of West Indies – Mona Campus: The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus offers world class, accredited higher education programs to Jamaica, the region and the globe. UWI engages in research and development designed to support the social and economic growth of the Caribbean region, the provision of community service, and the enrichment of the academic experience.  The UWI is the region's premier educational institution, with faculties offering a wide range of undergraduate, masters and doctoral programmes in Humanities and Education, Science and Technology, Science and Agriculture, Engineering, Law, Medical Sciences and Social Sciences.

Ecuador

Walking Palms Global Health Initiative:  Walking Palms Global Health is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador that deploys Systems Thinking and data-driven research to design and implement holistic, community-led health initiatives.

Walking Palms is active throughout Latin America and the Caribbean where climate change is exacerbating local residents' risks from drought, floods and other increasingly volatile environmental conditions.

Escuela Superior Politcnica del Litoral: The Escuela Superior Politcnica del Litoral (ESPOL) is a public university located in Guayaquil, Guayas Province in Ecuador. ESPOL has five faculties or schools, fifteen research centers, and several associated centers providing twenty-six undergraduate and ten master’s degrees