Student Spotlight: Tony Fuller ’15 Is Carving a Path in Global Neurosurgery

Tony Fuller ‘15, a Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) master’s degree student and Duke medical student, recently returned from Uganda after spending five months conducting research at Mulago Hospital in the capital city of Kampala. 

While there, he worked with DGHI professor and neurosurgeon Michael Haglund to evaluate the impact of a seven-year twinning program between Mulago and Duke Hospital to expand neurosurgical capacity in Uganda. Fuller is continuing to pursue this research through the newly established Division of Global Neurosurgery and Neuroscience at Duke. 
 
With a goal of working as a neurosurgeon both domestically and globally, Fuller has also developed an interest in the functioning of health systems, both in the U.S. and around the world.  In addition to his work in Uganda, Fuller has worked in Costa Rica and Haiti and plans to continue adding stamps to his passport. 

Fuller says DGHI has helped him clarify and prepare for his intended career path. “Becoming a neurosurgeon that works globally was my idealistic goal when I started medical school. I just wasn't sure how I was going to make that happen,” he said. “With the training I've received through the MScGH, I've made that path clearer and have already begun taking steps to making that a reality.”

This summer, after completing his global health degree, Fuller hopes to enroll in a master of business administration program at the Fuqua School of Business while finishing his fourth year of medical school. 

After medical school, Fuller will use his background in global health and neurosurgery to build capacity for surgical and basic neurosurgical care in low-resource settings.

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