Ryan Westergaard, MD, MPH, PhD, associate professor, Infectious Disease, is one of 11 University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison) scholars selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for the 2024–2025 academic year by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Dr. Westergaard is principal investigator for the multidisciplinary Syndemics Research Group (SynRG) at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, which looks for ways to improve health for people and communities affected by substance use disorders, infectious diseases and related social problems. Since 2019, Dr. Westergaard has also served as the Chief Medical Officer for Communicable Diseases at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Westergaard will apply his expertise in the role of technical advisor to Rwanda’s Ministry of Health.

Specifically, he will provide support to the Ministry’s plan to expand their healthcare workforce to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of at least four health care providers per 1,000 people.

He will also support the creation of Rwanda’s first infectious diseases fellowship training program for physicians.

This article has been adapted from a release by UW–Madison’s International Division.

Banner: Dr. Ryan Westergaard, MD, MPH, PhD, is among this year’s Fulbright U.S. Scholars. Credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine.