Dr. Alvan Ukachukwu is a neurosurgeon and public health physician with experience as a clinical and health system leader in resource-limited settings. His practice as the sole neurosurgeon in a 14-hospital health system in Abuja, Nigeria, exposed him to the overwhelming disparities and inequities in the availability and distribution of neurosurgical services, workforce, training, technology, infrastructure, and financial resources. This inspired him to enroll in the Master of Science (MSc.) in Global Health program at the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) where he built on his experience and acquired research and analytical skills in health policy and systems strengthening research.

Dr. Ukachukwu is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Affiliate Faculty of the Duke Global Health Institute, and Director of Neurosurgery Research at the Duke Global Neurosurgery and Neurology (DGNN) division. He is the Team Lead and PI on the Bass Connections project Building Sustainable Neurosurgical Systems in LMICs. Some of his current projects include studies on neural tube defects in Uganda and Nigeria, neuropsychiatric sequelae of pediatric TBI in Nigeria, projection modeling of the neurosurgical workforce in Africa, and metrics for global neurosurgery sustainability. He is the lead PI on a comprehensive review of the neurosurgical landscape in Nigeria published as a 14-manuscript Special Issue in World Neurosurgery. His research focuses on eliminating disparities in access and systems of care in neurosurgery and building sustainable neurosurgical systems.