BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:globalhealth.duke.edu BEGIN:VEVENT UID:000c6fcedbaef3c997f719b16c865743 DTSTART;TZID=US/Eastern:20260414T120000 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND;TZID=US/Eastern:20260414T130000 URL:https://globalhealth.duke.edu/events/reducing-burden-sickle-cell-diseas e-remote-island-clinic-lake-victoria-uganda-student-led LOCATION:040 Trent Hall\, plus Zoom webinar SUMMARY:Reducing the Burden of Sickle Cell Disease at a Remote Island Clini c in Lake Victoria\, Uganda: Student-led Collaboration Transforming Patien t Care CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:ABOUT THE EVENT\n\nSickle cell disease (SCD) is a life-threaten ing genetic disorder and\nmajor global health equity crisis — while surv ival rates reach 99%\nin high-income countries\, nearly 80% of affected ch ildren in Uganda do\nnot survive past age five. This panel highlights stud ent-led research\ntransforming patient outcomes at Kalangala Health Center IV\, a remote\nisland clinic serving communities across 65 islands in Lak e Victoria's\nSsese archipelago. Presenters will share achievements and le ssons\nlearned across health systems strengthening\, newborn screening\,\n genetic counseling\, data infrastructure\, and the future of gene\ntherapy access in resource-limited settings. Join us for a dynamic\ndiscussion on how collaborative\, community-centered research is\nclosing the gap betwe en health inequity and quality improvement in\ncare delivery through a dec entralized partnership model.\n\nSPEAKERS\n\nKEARSLEY STEWART\, PHD (MODER ATOR) Professor of the Practice of Global\nHealth and Cultural Anthropolog y at Duke University. For the past\neight years\, Prof. Stewart has co-dir ected the DGHI–Kalangala Health\nCentre IV sickle cell research and trai ning collaboration with her\ncolleague\, Joel Kibonwabake. Stewart and Kib onwabake have trained\nDuke\, UNC-Chapel Hill and Ugandan undergraduate\, medical\, graduate\nstudents plus KHCIV staff in community and clinical si ckle cell\nresearch. Her research interests include community-engaged sick le cell\ndisease research in Africa\, rapid point-of-care diagnostics\, ne wborn\nscreening capacity building\, and the ethics of genetic testing in\ nlow-resource settings.\n\nDR. ALLAN BAKESIGA is an Ugandan medical doctor and MSGH candidate at\nDuke University\, where his work focuses on global neurosurgery\,\ntraumatic brain injury\, and health disparities in low- a nd\nmiddle-income countries. His master's thesis evaluates the use of the\ nInfrascanner Device for Traumatic Brain Injury Triage in Uganda\, which\n introduces\n\nNICOLE HARMS\, MPH graduated from the UNC Gillings School of Public\nhealth and holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and ha s\nexperience in disease surveillance and program evaluation. Her\ncontrib utions to the Duke-KHCIV collaborative include an analysis of\npatient dat a to support evaluation of the KHCIV sickle cell disease\nprogram aimed at strengthening clinic resources and community outreach\nto improve patient outcomes. \n\nSTEPHANIE IBEMERE\, PHD\, MSN\, RN is an Assistant Profess or in the Duke\nSchool of Nursing and Affiliate Faculty at the Duke Global Health\nInstitute\, with expertise in global health capacity building and \nclinical education related to sickle cell disease. Her research\nfocuses on improving the clinical model of care for sickle cell\ndisease in low-r esource settings in sub-Saharan Africa and the United\nStates through impl ementation science\, technology\, and\ncommunity-engaged research.\n\nJOEL KIBONWABAKE is the ophthalmic clinical officer and chief\nclinician of th e Sickle Cell Clinic at Kalangala Health Centre IV\,\nwhich he founded in 2015 after recognizing a critical gap in care for\nisland communities in L ake Victoria. Through his long collaboration\nwith Duke\, Kibonwabake has grown the clinic into a model for\ndecentralized sickle cell treatment and research in Uganda\, and\nenvisions it becoming a hub for sickle cell res earch across\nsub-Saharan Africa.\n\nMADDIE KITT\, MSGH is a current recip ient of a nine-month Fulbright\nU.S. Research Grant and recent DGHI MSGH g raduate whose work focuses\non improving health outcomes for people living with sickle cell\ndisease\, particularly in Kalangala\, Uganda. Her resea rch examines the\ncultural and clinical perspectives on herbal medicine us e and the\nimpact of these herbs on sickle cell pain crises. Following her \nFulbright research\, she will attend PCOM South Georgia’s medical\nsch ool to pursue her passion for global and rural medicine.\n\nDANIEL LEE is a first-year medical student at UNC Chapel Hill with a\npassion for global health. His research focuses on identifying\nbarriers to hydroxyurea ther apy in Kalangala\, Uganda\, with a specific\nfocus on utilizing biological markers to assess medication adherence\nusing portable point-of-care devi ces. He plans on using his results\nfrom his study and his medical trainin g to continue to serve the SCD\npatients of Kalangala\, extending beyond a research lens to ensure\nequitable access to chronic disease management.\ n\nJULIUS MUCHANGI is a second-year Master of Science in Global Health\nca ndidate at the Duke Global Health Institute\, whose thesis examines\nmulti -level determinants of vaso-occlusive crisis among patients\ntaking hydrox yurea in Kalangala\, Uganda. He has conducted fieldwork at\nKalangala Heal th Centre IV and has helped lead a collaborative team of\nDuke and UNC Gil lings School of Public Health students on quality\nimprovement initiatives for sickle cell disease care at KHCIV.\n\nDR. DEOGRATIAS MUNUBE is a cons ultant pediatrician at Mulago National\nReferral Hospital and lecturer in Makerere University's Department of\nPediatrics and Child Health\, Uganda where he has spent over a decade\nleading groundbreaking research on sickl e cell disease in Uganda. His\nresearch has mounted critical evidence on S CD-related stroke\, finding\nthat children with the disease are 300 times more likely to suffer a\nstroke than healthy children— work that is dire ctly shaping national\nscreening and treatment policy. He serves as mentor for the Kalangala\nHealth Centre IV SCD clinic. \n\nEMILY PEPPER is an u pcoming MPH graduate in Epidemiology from UNC\nChapel Hill with prior expe rience supporting international development\nprograms. Her recent work inc ludes developing a Delphi Survey designed\nto identify expert consensus on strategies to improve health equity\nand access to care for those with SC D in Uganda. Next\, she will\ndevelop policy briefs and host workshops wit h the Ugandan Ministry of\nHealth to advance implementation of these strat egies.\n\nDR. KALEB TSEGA is a medical doctor and first-year MSGH candidat e at\nthe Duke Global Health Institute. He is currently working on examini ng\nthe decentralization of complex sickle cell disease care in Kalangala\ nHealth Centre IV\, Uganda. His research interests lie at the\nintersectio n of non-communicable diseases and health systems.\n\n_This is a hybrid ev ent with both in-person and remote attendance\noptions. Lunch will be ava ilable._\n X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

ABOUT THE EVENT

Si ckle cell disease (SCD) is a life-threatening genetic disorder and major g lobal health equity crisis — while survival rates reach 99% in high-inco me countries\, nearly 80% of affected children in Uganda do not survive pa st age five. This panel highlights student-led research transforming patie nt outcomes at Kalangala Health Center IV\, a remote island clinic serving communities across 65 islands in Lake Victoria's Ssese archipelago. Prese nters will share achievements and lessons learned across health systems st rengthening\, newborn screening\, genetic counseling\, data infrastructure \, and the future of gene therapy access in resource-limited settings. Joi n us for a dynamic discussion on how collaborative\, community-centered re search is closing the gap between health inequity and quality improvement in care delivery through a decentralized partnership model.

Speaker s

Kearsley Stewart\, PhD (Moderator) Professor of the Practice of Global Health and Cultural Anthropology at Duke University . For the past eight years\, Prof. Stewart has co-directed the DGHI–Kala ngala Health Centre IV sickle cell research and training collaboration wit h her colleague\, Joel Kibonwabake. Stewart and Kibonwabake have trained D uke\, UNC-Chapel Hill and Ugandan undergraduate\, medical\, graduate stude nts plus KHCIV staff in community and clinical sickle cell research. Her r esearch interests include community-engaged sickle cell disease research i n Africa\, rapid point-of-care diagnostics\, newborn screening capacity bu ilding\, and the ethics of genetic testing in low-resource settings.

Dr. Allan Bakesiga is an Ugandan medical doctor and MSGH candidate at Duke University\, where his work focuses on global neurosurg ery\, traumatic brain injury\, and health disparities in low- and middle-i ncome countries. His master's thesis evaluates the use of the Infrascanner Device for Traumatic Brain Injury Triage in Uganda\, which introduces

Nicole Harms\, MPH graduated from the UNC Gillings Sch ool of Public health and holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology a nd has experience in disease surveillance and program evaluation. Her cont ributions to the Duke-KHCIV collaborative include an analysis of patient d ata to support evaluation of the KHCIV sickle cell disease program aimed a t strengthening clinic resources and community outreach to improve patient outcomes. \;

Stephanie Ibemere\, PhD\, MSN\, RN is an Assistant Professor in the Duke School of Nursing and Affiliate Fa culty at the Duke Global Health Institute\, with expertise in global healt h capacity building and clinical education related to sickle cell disease. Her research focuses on improving the clinical model of care for sickle c ell disease in low-resource settings in sub-Saharan Africa and the United States through implementation science\, technology\, and community-engaged research.

Joel Kibonwabake is the ophthalmic clini cal officer and chief clinician of the Sickle Cell Clinic at Kalangala Hea lth Centre IV\, which he founded in 2015 after recognizing a critical gap in care for island communities in Lake Victoria. Through his long collabor ation with Duke\, Kibonwabake has grown the clinic into a model for decent ralized sickle cell treatment and research in Uganda\, and envisions it be coming a hub for sickle cell research across sub-Saharan Africa.

Maddie Kitt\, MSGH is a current recipient of a nine-month Fu lbright U.S. Research Grant and recent DGHI MSGH graduate whose work focus es on improving health outcomes for people living with sickle cell disease \, particularly in Kalangala\, Uganda. Her research examines the cultural and clinical perspectives on herbal medicine use and the impact of these h erbs on sickle cell pain crises. Following her Fulbright research\, she wi ll attend PCOM South Georgia’s medical school to pursue her passion for global and rural medicine.

Daniel Lee is a first-ye ar medical student at UNC Chapel Hill with a passion for global health. Hi s research focuses on identifying barriers to hydroxyurea therapy in Kalan gala\, Uganda\, with a specific focus on utilizing biological markers to a ssess medication adherence using portable point-of-care devices. He plans on using his results from his study and his medical training to continue t o serve the SCD patients of Kalangala\, extending beyond a research lens t o ensure equitable access to chronic disease management.

Jul ius Muchangi is a second-year Master of Science in Global Health candidate at the Duke Global Health Institute\, whose thesis examines mult i-level determinants of vaso-occlusive crisis among patients taking hydrox yurea in Kalangala\, Uganda. He has conducted fieldwork at Kalangala Healt h Centre IV and has helped lead a collaborative team of Duke and UNC Gilli ngs School of Public Health students on quality improvement initiatives fo r sickle cell disease care at KHCIV.

Dr. Deogratias Munube is a consultant pediatrician at Mulago National Referral Hospital and lecturer in Makerere University's Department of Pediatrics and Child H ealth\, Uganda where he has spent over a decade leading groundbreaking res earch on sickle cell disease in Uganda. His research has mounted critical evidence on SCD-related stroke\, finding that children with the disease ar e 300 times more likely to suffer a stroke than healthy children— work t hat is directly shaping national screening and treatment policy. He serves as mentor for the Kalangala Health Centre IV SCD clinic. \;

Emily Pepper is an upcoming MPH graduate in Epidemiology fro m UNC Chapel Hill with prior experience supporting international developme nt programs. Her recent work includes developing a Delphi Survey designed to identify expert consensus on strategies to improve health equity and ac cess to care for those with SCD in Uganda. Next\, she will develop policy briefs and host workshops with the Ugandan Ministry of Health to advance i mplementation of these strategies.

Dr. Kaleb Tsega is a medical doctor and first-year MSGH candidate at the Duke Global Healt h Institute. He is currently working on examining the decentralization of complex sickle cell disease care in Kalangala Health Centre IV\, Uganda. H is research interests lie at the intersection of non-communicable diseases and health systems.

This is a hybrid event with both in-person and remote attendance options. \;Lunch will be available.

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