The Yale Institute for Global Health (YIGH) has selected Dr. Melanie Sion as a 2022 recipient of the YIGH Global Health Spark Award to advance her research on the disproportionate share of global surgical disease burden shouldered by low-income countries.

Specifically, Dr. Sion and her team will use the funds to perform two studies into the causes, perceptions, and potential solutions to cancellation of same-day elective surgery at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi — a country where the surgery cancellation rate at some hospitals exceeds 40%.

“We hope the clarity this work provides will alleviate some of the disruption cancellations cause for patients, surgeons, and the hospital system as a whole. Perhaps more importantly, we hope to foster the growth of skills and knowledge necessary for our Malawian colleagues to build a quality improvement program at their hospital,” said Dr. Sion.

YIGH Spark Awards provide up to $10,000 in kickstarter funds to YIGH affiliated faculty and are intended to “spark” larger grant opportunities.

Dr. Sion is an Assistant Professor in the Division of General Surgery, Trauma & Surgical Critical Care. She has a special interest in developing surgical services in Southern and East Africa and in educating the Yale community on health disparities in surgical care due to global poverty.