Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga | |
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Born | |
Nationality | Ugandan |
Citizenship | Uganda |
Education | Mbarara University (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) (Master of Medicine in Surgery) Makerere University (Residency Program in Neurosurgery) University of Toronto (Fellowship in Pediatric Neurosurgery) |
Occupation | Pediatric Neurosurgeon |
Years active | 2019–present |
Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga is a physician from Uganda, who is the country's first female neurosurgeon. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] As of 2021 she was one of only thirteen neurosurgeons in Uganda. [7] As of 2018 she was employed by Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala. [1] [8]
She is Ugandan by birth. Her father is the late Professor Sekabunga, a well-known pediatric surgeon, who practiced at Mulago National Referral Hospital in the 1970s and 1980s. She also had a maternal aunt who was a physician. She credits that aunt for paying her school fees and being the inspiration to pursue medicine as a career. [9]
She went on to study medicine at Mbarara University, followed by internships at the same institution, and at Lira Regional Referral Hospital. [1] She returned to Mbarara University to pursue a Master of Medicine degree in Surgery, the first woman to do so. [9] She was then admitted to Makerere University to pursue a neurosurgical residency at Mulago National Referral Hospital, graduating in 2018. She then spent a year specialising in paediatric neurosurgery at The Hospital for Sick Children, the teaching hospital of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, in Toronto, Canada. [3] One of her Ugandan mentors was the late John Baptist Mukasa (1967 - 2021). [7] [10]
Following the completion of her neurosurgery fellowship in Toronto, Canada, she returned to Uganda and took up employment at Mulago National Referral Hospital as a consultant pediatric neurosurgeon and as an assistant lecturer in neurosurgery at Makerere University School of Medicine. She has also held teaching positions at Mbarara University School of Medicine. As of February 2023, Nalwanga was a member of the faculty at Uganda Christian University School of Medicine. [11] [12]
Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.
Mulago National Specialised Hospital, also known as Mulago National Referral Hospital, is a component of Mulago Hospital Complex, the teaching facility of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. It is the largest public hospital in Uganda.
Mulago is a hill in north-central Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. The hill rises 4,134 feet (1,260 m) above sea level. The name also applies to the neighborhoods that sit on this hill.
Gail Linskey Rosseau is Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, D.C. Prior to this position, she was Associate Chairman of Inova Fairfax Hospital Department of Neurosciences. She previously served as director of skull base surgery of NorthShore University HealthSystem. She is board-certified and has been an examiner for the American Board of Neurological Surgery. She has been elected to the leadership of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies, and the Société de Neurochirurgie de Langue Française.
Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, commonly known as Mbarara Hospital, is a hospital in Mbarara in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the referral hospital for the region and specifically for the districts of Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ntungamo, Kiruhura, Ibanda, and Isingiro. The hospital serves as the teaching hospital for the Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
As of 2021, 11 universities in Uganda offer medical schools. Admission to medical school requires the candidate to have attained a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) as well as proficiency in Biology or Zoology, Chemistry and Physics at A-level standards. Training leading to the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) lasts five years. Major examinations are conducted after the first, second and fifth year, with additional evaluations after each clinical rotation. After successful completion of the fifth year, candidates complete a year of internship under the supervision of specialists. Postgraduate training is available at Makerere University School of Medicine and other Public and Private Universities in a number of medical and surgical disciplines. The training takes three to four years and leads to the Master of Medicine (MMed) degree. The East, Central and Southern Africa College of Health Sciences is nowadays another alternative postgraduate training pathway in Uganda, such as Membership [MCS (ECSA)] and Fellowship [FCS (ECSA)] of the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA); as well as in Internal Medicine through the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP) and the College of Obstetrics and Gynecology of East, Central and Southern Africa (ECSACOG) for Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The Mouloud Mammeri University of Tizi Ouzou is a university in Tizi Ouzou, Algeria.
Mbarara University School of Medicine (MUSM), also known as Mbarara University Medical School (MUMS) is the school of medicine of Mbarara University of Science and Technology, one of Uganda's public universities. The medical school was founded in 1989, the same year that the university was established.
James Rutka is a Canadian neurosurgeon from Toronto, Canada. Rutka served as RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto from 2011 – 2022. He subspecializes in pediatric neurosurgery at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and is a Senior Scientist in the Research Institute at SickKids. His main clinical interests include the neurosurgical treatment of children with brain tumours and epilepsy. His research interests lie in the molecular biology of human brain tumours – specifically in the determination of the mechanisms by which brain tumours grow and invade. He is the Director of the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Centre at SickKids, and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Mulago Women's Referral Hospital, whose official name is Mulago Specialised Women and Neonatal Hospital, is a component of Mulago National Referral Hospital, the largest hospital in Uganda, which serves as the teaching hospital of Makerere University College of Health Sciences. The women's hospital was constructed from April 2013, with commissioning originally expected in the second half of 2016. After delays, construction was completed in July 2018.
Jolly Kaharuza Nankunda,, is a consultant pediatrician in the Uganda Ministry of Health, who serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the 450-bed Mulago Women's and Neonatal Referral Hospital. She was appointed to that position on 9 August 2018.
Betty Asiimwe Mpeka Tusubira,, but commonly known as Betty Mpeka, was a Ugandan physician and public health specialist, who at the time of her death, was the Deputy Chief of Party of Uganda Indoor Residual Spraying Project Phase II, at the Uganda Ministry of Health, based in Kampala, the capital of that East African country.
Global neurosurgery is a field at the intersection of public health and clinical neurosurgery. It aims to expand provision of improved and equitable neurosurgical care globally.
Faiza Lalam is a medical doctor from Algeria, who is credited as the first woman neurosurgeon in Africa, spearheading the work of women in the specialism on the continent. She was described in 2020 as the "'Dean' of women neurosurgeons in Africa and the Middle East" by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies.
Claire Karekezi is a Neurosurgeon at the Rwanda Military Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. As the first woman neurosurgeon in Rwanda, and one of eight neurosurgeons serving a population of 13 million, Karekezi serves as an advocate for women in neurosurgery. She has become an inspiration for young people pursuing neurosurgery, particularly young women.
John Baptist Nsubuga Mukasa, was a Ugandan neurosurgeon, who served as a Consultant Neurosurgeon at Mulago National Referral Hospital. He concurrently served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Neurosurgery at Makerere University School of Medicine. He died in Kampala, from complications of COVID-19 infection on 29 June 2021.
Deborah L. Benzil is an American neurosurgeon specializing in brain and spine tumors, stereotactic radiosurgery, socioeconomic education. She was awarded the Anthony Greto Fellowship from the Association of Brain Tumor Research. She is the Vice Chair and professor of neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Isabella Epiu is a Ugandan anesthesiologist and critical care medicine specialist who is reported to be the first female anesthesiologist in the countries of the East African Community, to graduate with a Doctor of Philosophy degree. In 2023, she graduated from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia with a PhD in Medicine, specializing in neuro-respiratory physiology and health economics.
Jovan William Mabudo Kiryabwire, was a Ugandan neurosurgeon, who served as a consultant neurosurgeon at Mulago National Referral Hospital. He concurrently served as a Professor and Head of the Department of Neurosurgery at Makerere University School of Medicine. He died in January 2004 from stomach cancer. He is reported to be the first indigenous African to qualify as neurosurgeon in the countries of East and Central Africa.