How to become a Rockefeller Foundation Scholar: trajectories of Oswaldo Cruz Institute doctors who trained at Johns Hopkins University (1919-1924)

ABSTRACT

This text analyzes the trajectory of Brazilian doctors from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute who secured Rockefeller Foundation funding to study at Johns Hopkins University between 1919 and 1924. The article is based on material from the Rockefeller Archive Center-such as correspondence between the philanthropic agency’s offices in Brazil and United States-a doctoral thesis, a medical report, and oral histories. These sources help illuminate the conflicts, difficulties, and negotiations that occurred during the selection of scholars, their training in North America, and their return to Brazil. Regional and local issues and exchanges of knowledge about public health also characterized the experience of international professional training.

Keywords:
Rockefeller Foundation; Oswaldo Cruz Institute; professional qualification; international health; American philantropy