Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga

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Juliet Sekabunga Nalwanga
Born
Pediatric Neurosurgeon
Years active2019–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]

Background and education

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]

Career

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]

See also

References

  1. ^
    S2CID 29163841
    .
  2. ^ Kizito, Francis (12 September 2018). "Uganda's first female neurosurgeon is Dr. Nalwanga Juliet Sekabunga". MBU. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Global Neurosurgery Twinning: Duke Global Neurosurgery and Neurology's experience in Uganda | WFNS". www.wfns.org. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  4. S2CID 232482962
    .
  5. .
  6. ^ "DGHI's Michael Haglund Recognized for Global Neurosurgery Achievements". Duke Global Health Institute. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b "'A great blow to Uganda': surgeon John Baptist Mukasa dies of Covid". The Guardian. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. ^ "List Of Neurosurgeons in Uganda". 2022/2023. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  9. ^ a b Theresa Williamson, MD (28 January 2018). "Two Firsts for Black Women in Neurosurgery". Opmed.doximity.com. United States. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. ^ Adela Wu (7 July 2021). "Pandemic Loss: Pioneering Ugandan Neurosurgeon Was A 'Servant Of The People'". Washington, D.C., United States: NPR. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  11. ^ Pauline Luba (14 February 2023). "UCU student meets medical idol: "She is my hero"". The Standard (UCU). Mukono, Uganda. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  12. ^ Pauline Luba (30 March 2023). "Nalwanga: Uganda's first female neurosurgeon". Uganda Partners. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 2 March 2024.

External links