A newly forged partnership between the Department and Santa Marcelina Hospital seeks to strengthen family medicine training and research capacity to enhance primary health care (PHC) delivery for a population of over two million people living in poorer neighborhoods of Sao Paolo, Brazil. A blended-learning faculty development programme was initiated, and to contribute to research capacity strengthening, two family physician trainers from Santa Marcelina joined the Department’s MSc Program. Six research projects were undertaken or planned collaboratively, focused on the contributions of community health workers, and the use of electronic medical records to improve PHC and PHC research priority setting. Regular videoconferences and faculty, staff and student visits and exchanges have been important in nurturing this partnership.