We are a world-class interdisciplinary educational, service and research organization dedicated to improving health and reducing the burden of disease in the world's most vulnerable populations. We integrate UCSF expertise in the health, social, and biological sciences, and focus that expertise on training global health leaders of tomorrow and developing solutions to today’s most pressing health challenges.

Founded as Global Health Sciences in 2003 by Haile Debas, MD, IGHS underscores UCSF’s commitment to global health and to the care of vulnerable populations at home and throughout the world. We rebranded to the Institute for Global Health Sciences in 2017.

At IGHS, we think big, pursuing bold and high-risk visions—malaria elimination, a cure for HIV—the sorts of problems that require broad, transdisciplinary contributions to achieve a better future. In addition, our faculty, staff and students are on the cutting edge of research, treatment, public health practice and policy development for tuberculosis, maternal and newborn child health, reproductive health, and other conditions that have a devastating impact on vulnerable populations both globally and locally.