Giving inspired by the power of global perspectives

For David B. FitzGerald, MD’00, R'04, a global health experience in Vellore, India, forever changed his view of medicine. Two decades later, it also galvanized the creation of his family’s fund for international education at UMass Chan Medical School—giving aspiring physicians improved access to learning and discovery through travel. 

“My assumptions about how medicine should be practiced were questioned early and often during my student experience in India,” said David. “For me, that’s the point of travel, and why I created the fund. I'd love to see international experiences made more available to medical students, including those of limited financial means.”

Established with an initial gift in 2020, David, together with his wife, Coleen O’Brien, made a second major contribution to the fund in honor of his 25th reunion this past May. 

Bridging the past and future of global health

A distant relative—renowned medical pioneer Ida S. Scudder, MD—inspired David’s student travel to India. Raised in India by medical missionary parents, Dr. Scudder graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1899 before dedicating the rest of her life to advancing public health in India. Her significant legacy includes the establishment of Christian Medical College, Vellore.

“I was motivated to see firsthand the medical school and hospital that my distant relative founded, which transformed medical care in that part of India,” said David.

His experience over several weeks in the country in February 2000 was profound. He saw a sweeping breadth of disease, including leprosy and tuberculosis—both widespread at the time—and observed approaches to health care that made the most of limited resources, such as the diagnosis and treatment of common conditions based solely on physical examinations.  

“It was far cheaper to treat presumptively than spend much more money on costly lab testing that is likely to produce the same results,” said David. “As doctors, we need to be aware of alternative diagnostic and therapeutic methods as the world evolves. We also need to remember that doing things differently to reflect local conditions is not necessarily wrong, and often essential.”

Through his family’s generosity, students at the T.H. Chan School of Medicine have greater access to life-changing global health experiences.

Recent fund recipient Jaein Jung, MD’25, traveled to Anand, India, in summer 2024, where her research focused on increasing health care access in rural villages, including the delivery of medication for diabetes and hypertension, and cervical cancer awareness. She also gained clinical experience with physicians across multiple specialties, from cardiology to obstetrics to radiation oncology.

“I witnessed moments of both profound joy and deep sorrow during my short month in India,” said Jaein. “My experiences further strengthened my determination to pursue global health and international medicine in the future.”

Currently an attending neurologist at Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida, David enjoyed returning to campus for Reunion 2025. After creating the fund during his class’s 2020 reunion year—alongside a group of classmates who stepped up to establish their own endowed funds—he felt now was the perfect time to enhance its impact with another contribution.  

“I've done a lot of travel in my life, and I am always learning from it,” he said. “An overseas scholarship supported my own international experience while at UMass Chan. I'm happy to continue the tradition for future generations of medical students.”