Generous Gift Supports Yale Institute for Global Health

As a medical educator and administrator at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, Mara McAdams, ’96 (YC), MD, has seen firsthand how collaborations on a global scale can improve health care and public health.

Over the 19 years she has been involved in the Duke-NUS education partnership, McAdams has come to appreciate how our understanding of the world and health has become global in focus.

“I have lived in Singapore for almost twenty years, and I really do see and experience the world as a global one,” McAdams said. “I believe that together we can improve health for all through research, education, and policy work.”

In recognition of the importance of global health collaborations in addressing today’s health challenges, McAdams and her husband, David Hand, ’96 (YC), recently endowed the McAdams-Hand Family Fund for the Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH). The purpose of the gift is to support and enhance the mission and programs of YIGH including research, education, operations, and professional or clinical practice.

“We can’t use our skills and successes to serve only our own communities,” said McAdams, who recently joined the YIGH Advisory Board. “Giving to YIGH allows Yale to research, design, and implement initiatives that will create meaningful change in the world. I am particularly excited to see how Yale can integrate global health into the wider university to influence and benefit from Yale’s diverse faculty across the university to create collaborations that will find more creative and more adaptive solutions to the health and wellbeing problems we are facing.”

International collaborations — and the programs, initiatives, and advancements that often come with them — can not only serve as valuable resources in under-resourced countries, they also bring together diverse voices, perspectives, and understanding in working to achieve shared community goals.

“Responding to the most salient issues in global health requires that we engage a variety of disciplines and perspectives. Through their generous gift, the McAdams-Hand Family Fund will play a central role in enhancing our efforts to engage with faculty and students from across Yale,” said Michael Cappello, MD, interim director of YIGH.

McAdams has long recognized and appreciated the value of teamwork in accomplishing shared goals. As a member of the varsity women’s ice hockey team during her four years at Yale, McAdams has many fond memories of speeding down the ice, feeling the puck on her stick, and looking for open space during the thrill of competition.

“The team was a small squad that had to fight hard against often stronger teams,” McAdams said. “Yet we practiced and trained hard all week to prepare for our games. Many of my closest friends to this day are Yale hockey teammates. I learned how to enjoy the journey of working as a team to do our best in the face of significant challenges. I use that skill of perseverance all the time in my personal and professional life.”