Focus on Faculty With Ganesh Yadlapalli, MD

Ganesh Yadlapalli, MD, says he’s been interested in global health for a long time. With this passion, he set out to address these issues in a number of ways and was eventually named a 2013

Fulbright Scholar

.

Yadlapalli graduated from Guntur Medical College, India, and received his training in internal medicine and pediatrics at the Staten Island University Hospital and SUNY, Brooklyn; nephrology and hypertension at Cleveland Clinic; and a transplantation and research fellowship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. He joined the UC College of Medicine in October 2004 and is an associate professor in the division of nephrology and hypertension.

"I think my medical training has equipped me with broad medical knowledge and analytical skills to meet the demands in any global health care setting,” he says. "International medical experience that I gained through organizing and participating in medical camps in Africa, Guiana, Haiti and India as well as participating in disaster relief activities in Haiti has enriched my insight into global health care.”

How did you go about applying and being selected for the Fulbright Scholarship Program? How long will you have this scholarship?

"Health is a global challenge, and the stability of global health is important to maintain the stability and accelerate the global economy. Approximately three-fourths of 7 billion people in the world are living in places with limited resources and facing the challenges of health care in the 21st century.

"I felt compelled to do something for global health when I visited Zambia in 2001. I was in my nephrology fellowship and thought I should find a cost-effective way to address this problem which was within my reach. I believe in the power of knowledge and felt that filling the knowledge gap in health care professionals

was a cost-effective approach to empower the medical system.

"As a result, I wrote the first edition of

The Handbook on Treatment Strategies for Common Medical Problems

. The book is for physicians practicing in places with limited resources. Currently, we are working on a second edition. Providing the knowledge can make the health care providers more creative in identifying the solutions for their day-to-day hurdles in these situations.

"I have been involved in international medicine for a long time and my activities as Fulbright Scholar is a continuation of what I have been doing. The Fulbright Scholar Program is an excellent avenue that provides great opportunities for faculty interested in international issues such as global health.”

What is the vision for your project as a Fulbright Scholar?

"The project I proposed is titled, "Medical Education for Global-health Advancement (MEGA) Initiative,” which focuses on educational programs for medical students and practicing physicians.

"I have been working on this for a long time, but for the Fulbright proposal’s time-bound specific goals were carved out of my long-term goals. Overall, those goals are to create awareness of the medical literature developed by global organizations, the scope of technology to disseminate information to remote places and the scope of technology in medical education. This research focuses on studying the availability and types of medical literature used for patient care and the methods and technologies being used for teaching in medical schools.

"I will be working on developing new and improving existing educational materials that I have developed so far. Technology based educational material, such as multimedia presentations, are very helpful in teaching complex topics, such as renal physiology. These materials are time-savers for teachers and help the students to understand complex concepts. In fact, I have been using the material when I teach renal physiology to medical students, residents and fellows at UC. I think other educational materials that I am developing can be used by the faculty during their international medical missions.”