Interdisciplinary Research & Capacity Building Programs

Global Environmental Health LAB's "LAB" stands for "Lean, Act, and Build."

Problems and issues associated with sustainable development are very complicated, and effective solutions cannot be derived from monodisciplinary points of view.

 Since 2010, we have been conducting research and capacity-building activities with multisectoral stakeholders from varied backgrounds, including provincial and city governments, faith-based organizations, motherhood groups, and interdisciplinary scholars.

You will be learning and discussing various challenges associated with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, with local professionals, professors, and students from STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and beyond (e.g., Medicine, Public Health, and Social Sciences).

The Social Ecological Model (SEM) is recognized as one of the most ideal theories to make a difference in Public Health because it involves multisectoral stakeholders making efforts at individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal levels. On the other hand, the SEM is also well known for being one of the most challenging theories to implement in the real world due to its complexity.

Education is key to promoting Public Health measures, but higher educational institutions have limited capacity to reach out to communities. Religious institutions, which share the same core philosophy as Public Health, including "doing good deeds," and the arts can more effectively reach out to a larger number of people than formal education.

Thus, our program is called "STREAM" (STEM + Religion and Arts) for Healthy and Sustainable Living!

In collaboration with local stakeholders in Indonesia, we successfully established 

the Center for Tobacco Control and Noncommunicable Disease Prevention in South Sulawesi in 2018 and the Alliance Consortium for Community Engaged Sciences (ACCESS) in West Java in 2024. 

You will be participating in supporting the building of resilient communities in Indonesia for "Healthy and Sustainable Living."

 We respect individuals and groups and support fairness for all. 

1. Spring: Preparation for research development and or capacity development. 
2. Summer: Two to three weeks of field experience in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia (Tentative date: End of July to Beginning of August)
3. Fall: Follow up with local team and continue collecting date
4. Spring: Dissemination (e.g., Submitting an abstract to American Public Health Association Annual meeting, the world largest public health conference.  (See below, "Successful Dissemination"}

$3,280.00 USD (fundraising tools and installment payment options available).

Fee Includes: All accommodation in Indonesia (single occupancy, western standards), ground transportation, liability insurance, all research internship training, workshops, seminars, and educational materials, access to international and local experts, participation in scientific summer research programs, and co-authorship on abstracts, papers, and publications in accordance with the level of contribution.

The fee does not include: Airfare, medical insurance, emergency evacuation insurance, academic credit (available for eligible participants for a fee), entrance fees, or travel costs for cultural excursions.

Parental consent is required for a participant younger who is than 18 years old.

Applications open in the fall and are due late spring for summer travel. 

For more information, please email Dr. Tomoyuki Shibata, Executive Director at GEH LAB (tshibata@gethlab.org)

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement: 

GEH LAB supports individuals of different ethnicities, religions, abilities, races, sexual orientations, genders, political perspectives, and backgrounds.