About Us

Bio

Patti is Deputy Director at CHESA, where she leads operations, strengthens partnerships, and helps shape CHESA's priorities, growth and impact. She brings more than 12 years of experience in international development supporting the strategic growth of programs and partnerships in over 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Prior to UCSF, Patti was the Senior Business Development Specialist for Catholic Relief Services based in Lusaka, where she led resource mobilization and new program development for the Zambia and Mozambique portfolios spanning health, food security and humanitarian sectors. Patti holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Columbia University and MPA from the University of Washington.

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Aleena is Program Coordinator at CHESA, where she provides administrative and programmatic support to the CHESA Fellowship and other CHESA initiatives. She previously worked as a Program Specialist at Mental Health America of Greater Houston where she led a pioneering program in collaboration with behavioral health providers to develop and implement strategies to increase access to care and reduce disparities in mental health services. She holds a BS in Health from the University of Houston and MPH from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

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Dr. Wondimu is a consultant general pediatrics surgeon working with an academic rank of assistant professor at Addis Ababa University, Tikur Anbessa Specialized hospital since March 2022. His main duty being guiding pediatrics surgery residents and fellows and medical students.

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Dr. Engel is a second year surgery resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She has always had a love for tutoring, mentoring and community involvement. She was first introduced to international mission trips in Honduras in 2020 right before the COVID pandemic. During the pandemic, she started a non profit organization geared to increasing access to food and resources to the community of Jackson. Her heart grew for health equity and she knew she wanted this to be incorporated into her career. She has since gone to Rwanda with a surgical mission and continues to work to obtain experience and knowledge to be able to help prepare her for future goals.

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Dr. Kifle is a consultant general surgeon and urologist. He is trained his undergraduate and general surgery residency at Hawassa University, Ethiopia. He has done his urology fellowship at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, Tanzania. Currently, he is working at PCEA Chogoria Hospital as the vice director of general surgery training and head of the department of surgery. He is a member of both national and international societies, including the urology society of Ethiopia, the Kenyan association of urologic surgeons, and the society of international urology and endourology society.

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Dr. Udeigwe-Okeke, MBBS, FWACS, is presently a fellow in Pediatric Surgery at the National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. She received her medical degree at the University College Hospital and University of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria in 2011. She subsequently served as a medical officer in the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria before embarking on a residency training program in the department of Surgery, National Hospital Abuja which she completed in October 2023. She was awarded the Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons in Pediatric Surgery, and the Alinta/Nwako Prize as the best candidate in the 2023 Fellowship examination in Pediatric Surgery at the West African College of Surgeons. Dr. Udeigwe-Okeke is passionate about bridging the gap between surgical diseases and access to optimal healthcare delivery in children in Low- and Middle-income countries. To this end, she is actively involved in implementation of the National Surgical, Obstetrics, Anesthesia and Nursing Plan for Nigeria. She is also working closely with the KidsOR to study the impact of creating dedicated children's surgery infrastructure in Nigeria and how to improve the quality of life of Pediatric Surgical patients. She’s also actively involved in developing simulation models for skills acquisition for trainees as well as non-specialist children’s surgical providers in the setting.

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Dr. Aporu is a Ugandan medical doctor pursuing a Master of Medicine in Anesthesia and Critical Care at Makerere University. He practices at Mulago National Referral Hospital, the largest public hospital in Uganda. His special interests are perioperative pain management, medical education, and mentorship. He was integral to the national project to improve emergency care in Eastern Uganda during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is an associate member of the Association of Anesthesiologists of Uganda and a member of the Emergency Care Society of Uganda.

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Dr. Davis earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and is currently an integrated plastic surgery resident at UCSF. Hailing from Wisconsin, her education and training have led her to work in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. During her time abroad, she focused on environmental health factors, surgical care delivery, and collaborated with local ministries to assess current surgical systems, contributing to national surgical planning efforts

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Dr. Lule is a General Surgeon at Double Cure Hospital in Uganda and a Doctoral Researcher in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Turku and Turku University Hospital in Finland. He also attained a postgraduate certificate in global health and infectious diseases from the University of Edinburgh. Dr. Herman is an affiliate of the Injury Prevention Research Group and Turku Brain Injury Center of the University of Turku, and an International Member of Australian Injury Prevention Network, Australian College of Road Safety, Association of Academic Surgery USA, Public Health Association of Australia, and Association of Surgeons of Uganda. His research interests lies with in the global health domain of addressing health and surgical care inequities amongst the most vulnerable populations. He is passionate about strengthening rural trauma care systems and improving the quality of injury data in Africa which is the focus of his doctoral thesis that builds capacity for rural trauma teams in Uganda.

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Dr. Okello is a specialist Pediatric surgeon having trained in Mulago National Referral Hospital under COSECSA pediatric surgery fellowship program. He has also received training from University of Alberta in Canada. He is currently based at Mulago Hospital as a Pediatric Surgeon. He completed his medical training at Gulu University in Northern Uganda and his Master of Medicine training in General Surgery at Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Dr. Okello is currently a member of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU) and also a fellow of COSECSA.

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Dr. Faktor is a General Surgery resident at UCSF. She graduated from Brandeis University with a B.S. in neuroscience, biology and Hispanic studies and received her medical degree from UCLA. During medical school, she spent a year in Rwanda conducting surgical site infection research through a Doris Duke International Clinical Research Fellowship, as well as a year pursuing an MSc in Public Health for Development from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her research focus is on local and global surgical equity, as well as surgical education.

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Dr. Siyoum is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of the Health Sciences Education Development Center (HSEDC) at Saint Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC). As one of the first specialized kidney transplant surgeons in Ethiopia, he is pioneering legislation on transplantation and deceased donation, and working to sustain his country’s young transplant program through national and international advocacy and research collaborations. Specifically pertinent to this application, Dr. Siyoum is passionate about advancing medical education, not just at the college and country level, but across the whole region. In his role as an educator, he directly mentors trainees at all levels (from medical students to general surgery residents), to train competent health professionals who can improve the delivery of quality health services to the community. As director of HSEDC, he develops and revises curricula at the college and national level, develops and employs innovative teaching and assessment methods (e.g. introduction of Entrustable Professional Activities to the family planning and reproductive health fellowship). Currently, Dr. Siyoum is working with the national working group to achieve medical school accreditation by the World Federation of Medical Education.

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Dr. Hamweemba is a Specialist Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon at Levy Mwanawasa University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka, Zambia. His extensive education includes a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Zambia, and a Master of Business Administration in Health Care Management from the University of Lusaka. Dr. Hamweemba further specialized in Trauma and Orthopaedics through a Master of Surgery from the University of Edinburgh, and completed a Trauma Fellowship at the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute in Tanzania. He is a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), Fellow of the Zambia College of Medicine and Surgery (ZACOMS) and an associate Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). He has also pursued advanced training globally, including the AOSpine Global Spine Diploma and a fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago's MacLean Center. Dr. Hamweemba has been involved in numerous professional training courses, enhancing his expertise in areas such as Advanced Trauma and fracture management, as well as spine surgery. His commitment to medical education, patient care, and ethical practice is demonstrated through his active involvement in teaching, clinical audits, and participation in various professional associations. His research contributions and presentations at international conferences highlight his dedication to advancing the field of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery.

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Dr. Oyelwo is a Senior Lecturer and Consultant Urologist at Ahmadu Bello University Zaira, Nigeria who is passionate about improving the surgical outcomes in developing countries in Africa through research, collaboration, and training within Africa and in the the developed world.

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Following completion of my residency training 4 years ago, Dr. Aria is currently work as a Plastic Surgeon at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) and Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH), the 2 tertiary institutions offering burns, plastic and reconstructive surgery services in Rivers State, Nigeria. One of the very few female plastic surgeons in Nigeria, Dr. Aria is the only plastic surgeon at the RSUTH where she is tasked with setting up and delivering specialty care and training using innovative contextualized methods to address and reduce the burden of unmet needs in a this low resourced setting. She is involved in the training of medical students and surgical residents. Her practice setting has created in her a passion for improving access to much needed surgical care and a drive to strengthen surgical systems. Dr. Aria is currently serving as a member of Nigeria’s National Surgical Obstetric Anaesthesia and Nursing Plan (NSOANP) technical team.

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Dr. Nansubuga is a consultant anesthesiologist currently working at the Uganda cancer institute with a passion for safe perioperative anesthesia and critical care. She is one of the pioneer anesthesiologists at the institute offering perioperative care to oncology patients and involved in the planning, training and developing of anesthesia and critical care services at this institute. Dr. Nansubuga is passionate about perioperative research and training of anesthesia providers in low resource settings. She is also the education secretary elect for the Association of Anesthesiologists of Uganda ( AAU).

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Dr. Luitel completed medical schooling at Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Nepal securing the first position among approximately 10,000 applicants in the MBBS entrance examination, earning a government scholarship for his education. Currently serving as an intern doctor at a tertiary care teaching hospital in Kathmandu, he is deeply committed to addressing health disparities, especially in surgery and perioperative care. He will soon transition to a rural community primary health care center under government bonding, assuming the role of in-charge. Recognizing Nepal's health workforce shortage, he aims to implement training programs for community health workers, specifically targeting congenital external genitourinary anomalies identification and referral in rural areas. His approach emphasizes community participation and capacity development, aiming for sustainable solutions tailored to local needs. Leveraging existing connections and partnerships, including with tertiary hospitals in Kathmandu, he aspires to ensure comprehensive and integrated healthcare delivery within the community.

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Dr. Rukundo is an Anesthesia and Critical Care resident at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. She is passionate about perioperative medicine especially in promoting safe and equal chances for everyone who undergoes surgery and anesthesia, and believes this can be achieved in a number of ways especially through education and research. Dr. Rukundo is currently the principal investigator in a research project that is seeking to find out the patient satisfaction level with perioperative services and associated factors in Mulago National Hospital, Uganda.

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Dr. Lusobya is a Ugandan Ophthalmologist working with Makerere College of Health Sciences as a lecturer with five years of experience in the medical and surgical management of various eye conditions in the Ophthalmology department and hard-to-reach areas. In addition to teaching theory and clinical skills to undergraduate and postgraduate students, she participates in patient care and supervise residents' research work and dissertation writing. Furthermore, Dr. Lusobya is the head the directorate of Research of this unit, whereby she organizes and participates in all Research-related activities like symposiums and Journal clubs. She is completing her pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus fellowship at Aravind Eye Hospital India.

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Dr. Kiweewa has a broad background in medicine and surgery practice, with specific training and expertise in General Surgery with interest in trauma, minimal access surgery, health professionals’ education and research. Dr. Kiweewa has been a research enthusiast since the early days of his research carrier, with research experience pertaining to metabolic derangements in trauma and timing of surgery during Covid-19.

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Dr. Naluyimbazi, a passionate pediatric surgeon at Mulago National Referral Hospital, recently graduated from the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). Committed to her field, she is a passionate member of professional organizations like the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), Association of Surgeons of Uganda (ASOU), and Global Initiative for Children's Surgery (GICS). Dr. Naluyimbazi holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree and a Master's of Medicine in Surgery from Makerere University's College of Health Sciences. Her 11 years of experience include specializing in pediatric surgery and serving as a Medical Officer at Makerere University Joint AIDS Project (MJAP), a tertiary HIV care center. During her fellowship, Dr. Naluyimbazi actively mentored medical students and residents at Makerere University. Now, she leverages her expertise as a pediatric surgeon at Mulago National Referral Hospital, making a profound impact on young lives. Beyond her medical career, Dr. Naluyimbazi cherishes her family life in Kampala, Uganda, alongside her husband and their four children. When not saving lives, she embraces opportunities for swimming, adventure, and indulging in her love for reading.

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Dr. Kagere is currently a Coordinator for Undergraduate studies and an Assistant Lecturer ENT Department Mbarara University of Science and Technology.

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Dr. Dahir is a general surgeon working in Somaliland, East Africa. She was trained as a nurse and midwife at Edna Adan University Hospital, and then got a scholarship to do medicine, graduating in 2012, including a 1-year internship. Since, there was no residency program in her country, she worked as a General Practitioner for 3 years, collaborating with visiting surgeons to learn and improve on her surgical skills. Since there is little opportunities for surgical specialization in Somaliland, she helped thousands of children and adults with different surgical needs. In 2016, she was given the opportunity to train as a fistula surgeon fellow with FIGO, which has given her the privilege to take care of women with this issue within her country. She then became MCS COSECSA trainee that she graduated from in 2017, and later joined a general surgery training program started Hargeisa University in collaboration with Istanbul Medeniyet University, which she graduated from in 2022.

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Dr. Shale is a General Surgeon and an Assistant professor at Jimma University Medical Center, a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East, central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), and an active member of Women in surgery Africa (WISA) and the surgical Society of Ethiopia (SSE). She is the first female surgeon to ever venture to work at Mohammed Akile Memorial Hospital (MAMH) in Afar region of Ethiopia which involved providing care to the most remote, impoverished, and rural population that is affected by recurring, periodic tribal conflict. She co-founded and coordinated the Disaster Preparedness And Response team at MAMH. For this, she was recognized by WISA with the 2023 WISA Shield Maiden award which is given to an outstanding female surgeon who has beaten the odds to achieve her career goals, and one who supports and empowers others being an agent of change in their community. Dr. Shale undertook various research trainings including the Supporting Women In Science capacity building program under the International Global Health Development Program of the Aga Khan University (IGHD-AKU), and Oxford University in collaboration. She is a member of the COSECSA Surgical Audit Network and currently working to implement Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocol to improve patient outcomes. Her current research interests focus on improving the quality and outcome of patients by implementing evidence that have proven effective elsewhere in her local context, as well as advocating for equitable access to evidence based surgical care.

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Justine Broecker is from Atlanta GA. She completed medical school at Emory, general surgery residency at Mayo Clinic Florida and trauma/critical care fellowship at UTSW/Parkland. She is currently a HEAL fellow working at Gallup Indian Medical Center and with the HEAL/CHESA team in Uganda working with COSECSA surgery residents at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital.

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John Baptist Ssenyondwa is a general surgeon from Uganda; trained at Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He is a CHESA fellow pursuing a career in global surgery with the aim of improving surgical services in Africa. A strong advocate for equity in health, surgical research, innovations and collaborations. He is interested in practicing surgery to improve life without any discriminations, training more surgeons to meet the surgical needs of Uganda and in conducting research to answer some of science's complex questions. He is particularly interested in surgical oncology. Current projects include developing a digital surgical training platform in Uganda, fostering collaborations between Uganda and international training institutions and a recent publication in the role of fibrinogen in traumatic brain injury. He currently works with the Children's surgical hospital in Uganda and is a member of the Association of Surgeons of Uganda.

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Dr. Baraka Mkome Musimu became a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 2014. He is an Otorhinolaryngology graduate of the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He is an employee of the Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) in the Mwanza region (Tanzania). He worked as a GP for 3 years at the emergency department and earned 3 honors (employee of the month twice and once as the annual employee at the department). He is a dedicated and passionate junior researcher with an interest in HNC and has actively participated in various research related to women infertility, Tracheostomy care, sinonasal cancer and currently working on the psycho-oncology (prevalence and predictive factors of depressive anxiety disorder among HNC patients) as a fellow in the Centre for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) and the Global Cancer Fellowships at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Notably, he is a recipient of the Non-Communicable (NCD) Research Grant Award at Muhas during residency (2020-2023). He was awarded the best oral presentation abstract for non-communicable diseases during the 11th MUHAS scientific conference in June 2023. Dr. Baraka is also currently doing Implementation research (IR), an online course run by the WHO Tropical Disease Research (TDR) website. In addition, Baraka is a member of the Tanzania ENT Society (TENTS).

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Dr. Utam is a specialist surgeon with 23 years of experience in medical practice, mainly in Nigeria and Liberia. He is currently based at Redemption Hospital as Head of the Surgical Unit. He completed his medical training at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria, and his residency training with the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons in general surgery. Terseer is also a member of the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons and a member and Head of the Surgical Outreach Committee of the West Africa College of Surgeons, Liberia Chapter.

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Alap Patel is an Integrated Plastic & Reconstructive Study Resident at UC San Francisco. He has interests in all aspects of Plastic Surgery, but is particularly interested in hand, aesthetic, and reconstructive surgery. He is currently completing a year-long research fellowship during which he is focusing on improving the care provided to unhoused patients in San Francisco who present with complex hand infections.

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Dr. Suleiman Abdulmajeed Olayinka (whose name preference is Yinka) is currently a Chief consultant ENT surgeon with special interest in prevention and treatment of ear diseases and hearing disability at Federal Teaching Hospital Katsina Nigeria where he is presently working from January 2008 – till date and pursuing his Fellowship in Health Equity is Surgery and Anesthesia at the CHESA Fellowship program at UCSF 2023-2024.

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Dr. Ronald Bisegerwa is a Pediatric Anesthesia fellow under the WFSA PATA project at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Uganda. He is also the pioneer UCSF CHESA Lifebox joint fellow, working with the Open Oximetry team to enhance the safety and precision of pulse oximeters, particularly in people with darker skin tones. Dr. Bisegerwa is involved in redesigning the WFSA Anesthesia Capacity Assessment Tool with the support of a WFSA Grant. His passion for improving patient outcomes globally has driven him to enthusiastically engage in several collaborative research projects, adaptive leadership, and mentorship. Additionally, he is the Secretary-General elect for the Association of Anesthesiologists of Uganda.

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Dr. Abirami Muthumani is originally from Philadelphia, and now lives in New York City where she is a surgical research fellow in the Department of Abdominal Wall Surgery at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital. Her global surgery focus, under the mentorship of Dr. Russell Jennings and Dr. Doruk Ozgediz, concentrates on developing interventions aimed at reducing mortality rates and improving outcomes among pediatric surgical patients with congenital anomalies in low-resource settings globally. After graduating medical school, Abi obtained her MPH from The Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. She is a team member of the nonprofit KidsOR and is currently working with KidsOR and the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to improve access to pediatric surgical services in Somali region of Ethiopia. She also works with Dr. Bayne, at CHESA, on projects aimed at forming bilateral minimally invasive surgical training programs with the team at Mulago Hospital, Uganda. In addition, she is part of a newly established team at Columbia's Surgery Department, focused on enhancing surgical equity within the Washington Heights community in NYC. Her long-term goal is to become a pediatric surgeon and serve with Médecins Sans Frontières, with a mission to provide pediatric surgical care in humanitarian settings.

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Isam Khair Al-Deen Bsisu is a Jordanian anesthesiologist dedicated to the fields of medicine and medical ethics. With a wealth of experience, including his role as a resident physician at Jordan University Hospital, the academic teaching hospital of the University of Jordan, and his extensive educational background, Isam has made significant contributions to the medical field. He has recently finished his residency training in June, 2023. He is currently pursuing a Perioperative Health Equity Fellowship at the UCSF Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia. Isam's commitment to humanitarian work is evident through his volunteer service and publications, demonstrating his passion for improving healthcare worldwide.

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Gratien Tuyishimire, MD, MMEd is an Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgeon from Rwanda. He graduated from University of Rwanda in 2010 with his medical degree, then he completed MMed at the same university in 2015 and worked as surgeon and clinical lecturer at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali until September 2021. With interest in education he participated in many AO trainings in his country after completion of AOCMF fellowship in Austria in 2018. Currently he is the director general of the MBC Hospital and co-director of ENT course at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. With a large group of international Collaborators, via the global Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Initiative’s research network, he is a pioneering educational leader, conducting national investigations into EHC disparities with an emphasis on community-based education solutions.

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Originally from Croatia, Alan earned his BS in biomedical engineering from Columbia University, as well as an MD and MHS (Master's of Health Sciences) from Duke University. At Columbia, he established the first biomedical engineering collaboration between Makerere (Kampala, Uganda) and Columbia Universities, resulting in a joint grant for students to develop sustainable medical devices for Ugandan hospitals. As an NIH T32-funded fellow of the National Clinician Scholars Program and the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia at UCSF, he is developing surgical training programs and quantifying the burden of untreated end-stage kidney disease in low- and middle-income countries. His long-term goal is to develop the infrastructure for safe and ethical kidney transplantation in LMICs. Outside of the hospital, Alan mentors local high school students applying to college through the Buck Fellows Program. A competitive swimmer of 15 years, he believes that physical and mental health go hand-in-hand. He speaks Serbo-Croatian and Spanish.

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Dr Fiona Kabagenyi is a CHESA fellow 2023-2024 who graduated as an ENT from Makerere University Uganda in 2019. She completed subspecialty training as the 2nd Karl Storz Paediatric ENT fellow at University of Cape Town South Africa in 2020. She is the first Paediatric ENT in Uganda, and is a lecturer in Department of Ear Nose and Throat at Makerere University. She established the Paediatric ENT unit in the teaching hospital Mulago National Referral Hospital where she trains postgraduates. She also serves as the current General Secretary of the Otolaryngology Society of Uganda, is a member of PENTAFRICA and Global OHNs.

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Dr John Bukuru, MD, MMED, OHNS, Lt Col, is the Head of Academic Department of Otorhinolaryngology/ENT/RMH at the Rwanda Military Hospital. There, he also serves as the Coordinator of Undergraduate Clinical Education. He holds a faculty member title and ENT specialist at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. Dr. Bukuru is a prominent member of the OHNS community, joining and becoming a research mentor within the Global OHNS RMP. Amongst his achievements, he was a course co-director with IRCAD France-Africa, and an aviation medical examiner with the Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority. Dr. Bukuru has joined the CHESA Fellowship cohort in 2023, where is research looks into the feasibility of newborn hearing screening in Rwanda and an assessment of genetic patterns related to hearing loss.

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Dr. Liana Valeanu is a cardiac anaesthesiologist and intensive care specialist working in Bucharest, Romania. Her main clinical practice interests are related to perioperative care, echocardiography and circulatory assisting devices. Apart from this, she also has a special interest in education through simulation, promoting patient safety and is involved in residents’ training programmes.

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Eden Belay Tilahun, MD, is a senior pediatrics surgery resident at Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, and a CHESA fellow. She has nine years of experience as a clinician, academician and leader in a university hospital. Dr. Tilahun is passionate about Global surgery & research, access to pediatrics surgical service, girls education & women empowerment and human rights.

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Emmanuel Bua is a registrar in surgery at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital in eastern Uganda and an honorary lecturer in Surgery at Busitema Univeresity Faculty of Health Sciences. He undertook a Master’s degree in General Surgery from Mulago Hospital ( Makerere University). He is a board-certified member and fellow of the College of surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA), and a global heath leadership fellow under the UCSF HEAL program. He is a passionate mentor and advocate for child health. He has worked with the underserved and impoverished communities of Uganda, Ethiopia, Zambia and Kenya where he has experienced first-hand the importance of the social determinants of health and the need for robust healthcare systems. He also had the opportunity to interact with patients in the USA and Netherlands which gave him a clear perspective of the healthcare systems in developed economies and the need for collaborations between local and international partners in addressing health care challenges in Africa. He is a strong advocate for global health equity.

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Felix Oyania MBChB, MMed, is a pediatric surgery fellow at the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, GloCal-UCSF fellow, 2021-22 and Global Health Equity Fellow in the UCSF – CHESA under the mentorship of Doruk Ozgediz, MD, MSc, FAAP, FACS and Director of CHESA. His research involves improving and advocating for pediatric surgical treatment and outcome for children in Uganda focusing on pediatric colorectal surgery – anorectal malformations and Hirschsprung’s disease.

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Saad was born in Lahore, Pakistan and just a few months later his family started their decades long journey across continents for his father’s work assignments. Growing up in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Holland, and Canada, Saad moved to the United States as a sophomore in high school. During his time in America, he has lived in Boston, New York City, Detroit, and now Austin, TX. All of these moves, and each seemingly more than the last, have continued to shape Saad’s perspective on the world in which we live. Although he studied philosophy in college and later even had a brief stint in the fashion industry, it was a documentary film about the work of Doctors Without Borders that first inspired Saad to pursue a career in medicine. Since that initial screening, each chapter of his life has brought with it more insight into the world of global health. Over the last five years, while training as a general surgery resident, he grew to appreciate the role that surgeons can play in ensuring global health equity. Today, he is excited to embark on his own journey by committing to a career focused on safely delivering essential surgical care globally through the lens of design thinking.

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Ava Yap, MD, MHS, was born in Canada and spent her upbringing in Hong Kong before moving to the US for college. She previously had the privilege to work in a range of healthcare systems in Canada, Peru, Ecuador, Uganda and Malaysia, which fostered a dedicated interest in addressing the global health inequity witnessed during her travels. She completed her medical degree and her Master’s in Health Sciences at Yale School of Medicine. At the time, she partnered with local pediatric surgical teams in Kampala, Uganda and charity KidsOR to conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) that demonstrated that implementation of a pediatric operating room in these limited-resource settings was very cost effective. She is now a general surgery resident at UCSF, conducting 2 years of dedicated research as a CHESA health equity fellow. She is currently mentored by the Director of the UCSF Center of Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia Dr. Doruk Ozgediz. She continues to collaborate with KidsOR and their partner sites to work towards narrowing the gap of unmet need in pediatric surgery in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. She hopes to bring her interest in economic impact analysis to these international partnerships, and inform the investment of pediatric surgical infrastructure and capital in low- and middle-income countries.

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Mignote Yilma is a general surgery resident in her dedicated research years at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She was selected to join the prestigious National Clinical Scholars Program (NCSP) at UCSF and is working towards a Master's in Clinical Research with a focus in implementation science. Mignote was also selected in the inaugural Health Equity Fellowship at Health Affairs. Mignote's current research focuses on assessing the early barriers to liver and kidney transplantation, assessing the impact of individual and community-level social determinants of health. She is using her findings to help develop a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Transplant Dashboard. She completed her BA in Human Biology at Stanford University, and her M.D. at Charles R. Drew/UCLA.

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Godfrey Sama Philipo MD., MPH is a Research and Patient Outcomes Coordinator at the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) at the ECSA Health Community. He received his Doctor of Medicine (MD) from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Tanzania and a Master in Public Health from the Southern Medical University (SMU) in China. He is currently taking a Master of Global Surgical Care (MGSC) degree at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the MUHAS-ORCI-UCSF Cancer Collaboration, leading a number of multidisciplinary international collaborative cancer research projects. With this team of cancer researchers and providers from UCSF (GCP and CHESA) and MUHAS, he is working to implement a Surgical Skills Lab at MUHAS. He was a Co-coordinator of the International Federation of Medical Students Association (IFMSA) Global Surgery Small Working Group, and co-founded the International Students Surgical Network (InciSioN), a nonprofit organization currently representing over 5,000 students, trainees, and early career physicians around the world who are passionate about Global Surgery. He participated in number of global surgery research projects including the World Development Indicator (WDI) surgical data of 2016 on access to quality surgical care globally. He currently researches on Children Surgery in Tanzania with a team at Muhimbili National Hospital in collaboration with the Ministry of health and international partners. His interest is in Global Surgery research, training and advocacy, incorporating Participatory Approach and Implementation Science skills.

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Temesgen is currently practicing surgery in resource-limited areas, and is a witness to the wide service gap in meeting the surgical load. He is a surgeon hoping to improve the service delivery gap in LMICs. His training in global surgery and equity education will offer him the necessary knowledge and experience to implement these changes. Prior to the fellowship, he obtained his MD from Jimma University in Ethiopia and continued to complete a specialty certificate in general surgery from St. Paul Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC). Temesgen is also an assistant professor and a general surgeon consultant.

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Richard received his degree from Busitema University School of Medicine in Uganda, and is currently training with the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA), while building new skills curriculum for interns. Through his work, Richard aims to improve surgical service delivery across Uganda. Additionally, Richard is a volunteer teacher, volunteer healthcare provider, and research assistant within Busitema University.

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Cecilia is an otolaryngologist and a lecturer at the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. She is interested in health equity and global surgery training because she believes in gathering the skills and knowledge in research within global health to then share this information with colleagues and trainees to improve quality and patient care.

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Mary Fakunle is a 5th year urology resident at UCSF, in her dedicated research year. She received her MD from New Jersey Medical School. This year, she is working on a number projects focused on prostate cancer in African American men. She entered the CHESA fellowship to expand her views of access to urological care worldwide, and hopes to contribute to improving access to urology services by the end of the year.

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Alliance is a general surgeon, currently a pediatric surgery fellow at the Mercy James Center for Pediatric and Intensive care. He is from Burundi, East Africa. Alliance's past surgical practice and experience has mainly been based in rural Burundi. He is passionate about equity in access to safe surgical care for rural populations of Sub-Saharan Africa, and Burundi in particular. Alliance strives to be a global surgery advocate with specific interest in children's surgical care. Additionally, he is an International Surgical Representative for the Global Surgery, Anesthesia, and Obstetric Collaboration and an active member of the World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists (WFSA).

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Bolusefe is a 5th year surgical resident in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria. Her research interests include health care financing and she is focused on improving accessibility and affordability of surgical care to children and other vulnerable populations in her area.

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Caroline Q. Stephens, MD, MPH is a current general surgery resident at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She obtained her B.A. in international affairs, with a concentration in global health from George Washington University. During this time, she traveled to Madagascar to study the intersections between the traditional and allopathic healthcare systems and spent time in Geneva, Switzerland studying global public health policy. She then went on to complete a M.D. and M.P.H. in epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) focusing her master’s work on the disparities in access to pediatric trauma care for rural patients. Her current work focus on improving trauma care for vulnerable patients in low-resource areas both at home and abroad. Locally, she seeks to address gaps in pediatric readiness at trauma hospitals and identify methods for strengthening pediatric trauma systems. She is also working with Dr. Ozgediz and Ugandan partners Dr. Namugga and Dr. Muwanguzi to implement standardize processes for the treatment and triage of trauma patients in District Hospitals.

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Treasure Ibingira is trained as a general surgeon with a laparoscopic and endoscopic focus. He is passionate about research, trauma surgery, and colorectal surgery. Treasure believes every individual regardless of status is deserving of adequate and appropriate health care. Being a part of the global surgery network, he is equipped with knowledge and skills to help those that are less privileged within his setting. By adapting and tailoring creative solutions and ideas generated from the numerous networks the global surgery platform has to offer, he shares experiences/ideas that might be beneficial to other platforms. Inability to access quality health care and surgical services is a major problem in Uganda and other low income countries. Through research, he will identify pitfalls and create solutions that can bridge gaps in service delivery or access, for the benefit of all.

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Violet is a third year general surgery resident at Tenwek Hospital under the PanAfrican College of Christian Surgeons (PAACS) and College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) programs. Training in a resource-limited centre has helped her appreciate health equity in both access to the centre and availability of resources. One of the tools that has facilitated the percolation of both infrastructure and human resources for health has been the data generated showing the need and impact of these resources therein. Violet is encouraged to delve into matters health equity and global surgery as it is a core aspect of her training.

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Amandine Godier-Furnemont earned her undergraduate degree at Columbia University. She then completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, during which she spent two years researching at the Georg-August University of Gottingen in Germany. Following completion of her PhD she attended Yale Medical School, where she was the recipient of the Downs International Research Fellowship supporting her work in Uganda, as well as the Samuel Jordan Graham Scholarship in Academic Surgery. At Yale, she also worked closely with the local refugee community to improve healthcare access. She has worked in several countries over the last seven years, and continues to work closely with partner surgeons internationally. As a CHESA fellow, her current work aims to strengthen ties between academia and humanitarian organizations, and focuses on quality improvement initiatives in surgical care delivery in low resource settings and areas in crisis.

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Hannah Decker is a general surgery resident at UCSF interested in understanding barriers in access to high-quality surgical care in vulnerable populations. She is currently exploring the ways that housing impacts surgical outcomes as a National Clinician Scholar, a two year fellowship in health services research.

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Martha is a general surgeon working with Mulago Hospital and a finalist student of urology fellowship with College of Surgeons of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). She has a special interest in global surgery as it is a means of improving surgical outcomes in LMICs, and a way of sharing knowledge between people working in different settings globally. Martha's contribution so far has been in the space of trauma management in Uganda. She has contributed to the development and instructing of a context appropriate trauma course in Uganda. Over 1000 health workers in Uganda have benefitted from this training.

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Dr. Samuel Negash is a general pediatric surgeon and assistant professor of surgery based in Ethiopia. He previously worked as a Lifebox fellow, engaging in different quality improvement projects on surgical safety. He has special interest in improving access to pediatric surgical service in low-income countries.

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Nathan Brand M.D MSc is currently a general surgery resident at UCSF. He obtained his B.A at Colorado College where he majored in philosophy. Following his graduation he worked for the NIH as a Cancer Research Training Award Fellow in the Laboratory for Translation Genomics. He then traveled to Malawi and Uganda where he spent a year volunteering in a rural clinic and working for the University of Minnesota researching pediatric severe malaria. Dr. Brand attended medical school at Columbia University where he obtained both a M.D and a MSc in global health. During this time he also worked for the Center for Global Health at the US National Cancer Institute and spent a year working as the Cancer Control Consultant to Kenya. During his time at UCSF, Dr. Brand has focused his research on both global health and surgical oncology. He is currently in the lab working for Dr. David Jablons on identifying novel therapeutics for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. His work is supported by both the Surgical Oncology T32 and the Thoracic Surgery Society's Resident Research Award.

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Gregory Leeb (MBBS, FANZCA) is an Australian-trained Anesthesiologist with a strong interest in global health equity and pediatric anesthesia. He has recently completed a fellowship in pediatric anesthesia at the Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. He is currently completing a Master’s of Public Health to better understand the broader issues affecting access to equitable health care globally. He has assisted in developing community clinics and ongoing nurse education in Sierra Leone, and worked as a Medical Aero-Retrievalist in rural and remote Australia with Australia’s First Nations communities. Greg entered the CHESA fellowship so he may continue to develop his understanding of global surgery and health equity, and further contribute to this field in a meaningful way.

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Anne Mbiya, Mmed is a graduate of Makerere University Anesthesia and Critical Care Training Program and a member of the Association of Anesthesiologists of Uganda. She has interests in surgical site infection research, maternal and pediatric anesthesia. Dr. Mbiya currently works at Nakasero Hospital (Kampala, Uganda) where she is focused on building infrastructure, quality improvement projects and pathways for improving patient safety.

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Erica complete anesthesia residency at UCSF and her MPH at Columbia University before completing her CHESA Fellowship in 2021-22. Her research interests include disparities in opioid prescribing patterns and disparities in organ transplantation. After fellowship, Erica joined faculty at UCSF where she remains active in CHESA and currently has NIH funding for her ongoing research.

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Bunmi Okunlola is a Clinical Instructor of Anesthesia at NYU and member of the UCSF Hypoxia Lab research team. After completing her medical training and anesthesia residency at Mount Sinai in New York, Bunmi joined the CHESA team in 2020 as a Global Health Equity Fellow. During her Fellowship year she was based at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, and her projects included development of a Health Equity Curriculum for residents in multiple perioperative departments. Bunmi also led a research project focusing on equity in pulse oximetry.

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Beti is an Ethiopian-American anesthesiologist who completed anesthesia training at UC Davis as well as a Masters in Pharmacology prior to completing a CHESA Fellowship in 2019-20. Beti is passionate about mentorship, recruitment and retention of under-represented individuals in medicine. She is the founder of MuluMentor, a virtual mentorship platform for pre-medical students from under-represented and underprivileged background. She is also actively engaged in global efforts in merging education gaps in anesthesia and works with the World Federation Society of Anesthesia on 1. designing an international post anesthesia guideline 2. delivering safe anesthesia teaching to remote areas in East Africa. After completion of her Fellowship, Beti joined faculty at UCLA where she is leading creation of a global health equity program in the Department of Anesthesiology.

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Elliot completed anesthesiology training in Australia and an MPH at Columbia University before coming to UCSF for a global health equity fellowship. During his Fellowship year, Elliot completed projects on the global capnography gap as well as advocacy for and development of health equity curricula for anesthesia and surgery trainees. Elliot remains active in CHESA project collaboration and teaching with current trainees.

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Tyler Law joined the Department of Anesthesia as the first Global Health Anesthesia Fellow and as part of the HEAL Initiative Global Health Fellowship. Tyler completed a five-year residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Toronto, and holds an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Finance from the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is interested in the interface between the surgical system and the rest of the health system, and how these interactions can be optimized. His experience in global health is an outgrowth of this interest, and he has published on knowledge translation in developing countries, as well as completed an internship at WHO in Geneva. During his Health Equity Fellowship he conducted workforce research to better understand factors driving workforce incentives. After CHESA Fellowship Tyler completed a Critical Care Fellowship and remains on faculty at UCSF.