Tamara Fitzgerald’s academic interest is global pediatric surgery. Millions of children worldwide do not have access to safe surgery for congenital anomalies and acquired conditions. As a result, many children in low- and middle-income countries live with chronic disability or die before they can access surgical care.  In many cultures, congenital problems may also lead to social isolation or catastrophic health expenditure for families. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, many countries have just a handful of qualified surgeons and some countries have no pediatric surgeons.

Dr. Fitzgerald’s work focuses on surgical capacity building and surgical technology for low-income settings.  Capacity building is empowering and working with local surgeons to increase numbers of surgical providers, improve quality and increase surgical support services such as intensive care and anesthesia services.  She has several ongoing projects regarding the burden of surgical disease for patients and their families in low-and middle-income countries, surgical training and cost-effective technology solutions.