A private philanthropy foundation gifted the GW Health Workforce Institute $18 million to expand its fellowship program, according to a release from the Milken Institute School of Public Health Thursday.

The institute, housed in the public health school, first established its fellowship program in 2016 with a $6 million grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies, an organization that donates to health and social public policy causes internationally. The foundation’s additional $18 million grant will fund the fellowship through 2026, the release states.

“The fellowship links our schools and faculty to an important, long-term global movement for health equity with significant teaching, learning and networking opportunities,” Guenevere Burke, a professor of emergency medicine at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the co-director of the program, said in the release.

The fellowship, which was formerly called ‘Leaders for Health Equity’ but will now be named ‘Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity,’ trains early- to mid-career health care professionals. Each class of 15 fellows – which will increase to classes of 20 starting in 2019 – learns about disparities in health and community organizing over the course of a yearlong program, according to the release.

“Through the Atlantic Fellows for Health Equity program, we are training the next generation of global health leaders dedicated to health equity,” Milken Dean Lynn Goldman said in the release.

The new funds will also support the institute’s work with the Beyond Flexner Alliance, an organization aiming to promote awareness about health disparities and health equity in higher education institutions, according to the release.