2024-2025 Global Cancer Program Fellows
Baraka Musimu, MD is an Otorhinolaryngology graduate of the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He works at Bugando Medical Centre, a tertiary zonal referral hospital in Mwanza region (Tanzania). He is a member of the Tanzania ENT Society (TENTS) and ENT UK. He’s a dedicated and passionate junior clinician researcher with an interest in HNC and has actively participated in various research related to women's infertility, tracheostomy care, and sinonasal cancer. He is currently a fellow in the Centre for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) and the Global Cancer programs at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) working on the psycho-oncology project. The UCSF Global Cancer Fellowship will support this work which aims to assess the prevalence and predictive factors for depression and anxiety disorders among head and neck cancer patients at three tertiary hospitals in Tanzania.
Charles Nhungo MD, is a urologic surgeon at Muhambili National Hospital in Tanzania. He is a member of the European Urological Association and holds a Master of Medicine in Urology from MUHAS. With over two years of clinical cancer research experience through the MUHAS-ORCI-UCSF Cancer Collaboration, his primary focus lies in uro-oncological malignancies and genomic differentiation. Dr. Nhungo aspires to become a transplant surgeon and surgical researcher in uro-oncology, dedicated to advancing cancer prevention in East Africa.
Daudi Gervas Katwana MD, is a general surgeon at Muhimbili National Hospital, specializing in gastrointestinal cancer. With a passion for advancing surgical techniques, Dr. Katwana is particularly interested in minimally invasive surgery, aiming to improve patient outcomes and recovery times. Committed to clinical excellence and innovative research, he is looking forward to enhancing the understanding and treatment of cancer on a global scale.
Deogratias Mtei MD, is a Tutorial assistant with the Department of Clinical Oncology at MUHAS. He is currently pursuing his master’s in clinical oncology. He looks forward to engaging in research in cancer targeting genetic predispositions, patient systems, and pathways in oncology and comparing outcomes towards improved patient care. He currently is a trainee in GCP under the clinical pathway where he has completed courses on designing clinical research and ethics.
Furahini Yoram Paulo, MSc is a Radiation Therapist in Tanzania with expertise in radiotherapy administration for all cancers. Currently, he serves as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Clinical Oncology at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). He did his BSc in Radiation Therapy Technology and MSc in Health Sciences at MUHAS. His research during his master’s degree focused on the assessment of thermoplastic mask use for head and neck cancer radiotherapy. He is a motivated early career investigator with a passion for clinical cancer research and aims to become an independent researcher and future leader in cancer research. In 2022, he participated in the Designing Clinical Research Course at the University of California, San Francisco with support from the MUHAS-ORCI-UCSF Cancer Collaboration’s award for “Building a Cancer Research Training Program in Tanzania” through which he developed a research project. His research interests are radiation oncology, palliative care, and implementation science.
Glory Makupa, MD, MMed is a clinical oncologist at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) and a lecturer at Kilimanjaro Christian University College (KCMUCo). She attained her undergraduate degree from KCMUCo and completed her Master of Medicine in Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS). She is an aspiring clinical researcher and during her master’s program, she conducted a study to advance knowledge on the safety of chemotherapy use among colon cancer patients in Tanzania.
Hussein Mogella MD, is a Haematologist at Tanzania Training Centre for International Health Ifakara Morogoro Tanzania (TTCIH). He received his medical degree from the University of People’s Friendship of Russia and a master of medicine in hematology and a blood transfusion from Muhimbili University Tanzania. Currently, he is working as a consultant hematologist at St Francis Hospital and as a lecturer at the University of St Francis (Sfuchas) Morogoro, Tanzania. He has an interest in improving the quality of life in patients with Hematologic Malignancies in Tanzania.
Katie Lichter, MD, MPH is a resident physician in Radiation Oncology at UCSF and a fellow with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Climate Change and Health Equity. She founded UCSF’s GreenHealth Lab, leading studies on the environmental impact of cancer care, including life cycle assessments (LCAs) of radiotherapy and the impact of climate events on patient outcomes. Through the UCSF Global Cancer Fellowship, she leads the GLOBAL-GREEN project, which aims to evaluate the carbon footprint of radiotherapy in Ghana and explore strategies for environmentally sustainable cancer care delivery. Her work focuses on building climate resilience to improve outcomes among patient populations most vulnerable to climate change’s impact and understanding local perceptions of these challenges to inform effective interventions.
Melissa Carvalho, MPH is a global health researcher from Senegal pursuing a Ph.D. in Global Health Sciences at UCSF. Before joining her doctoral program, Melissa received a master’s in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from the Yale School of Public Health; and spent nearly five years working as a Global Surgery Program Manager for the UCSF and UCLA Departments of Surgery. In this role, she managed a diverse research portfolio (e.g overseeing epidemiologic studies, community-based surveys, and policy analyses) primarily focused on strengthening surgical systems and characterizing the unmet surgical disease burden in Sub-Saharan Africa. Melissa also contributed to developing and implementing several NIH-funded projects to build capacity for trauma QI and mHealth follow-up of trauma patients after hospital discharge. Presently, her research interests lie in cancer care systems planning in low-and-middle-income countries and optimizing cancer care delivery using implementation science methods and approaches. The UCSF Global Cancer Fellowship will support her dissertation work which aims to assess the feasibility, appropriateness, and cost of integrating Next-Generation Sequencing technology into pediatric oncology care in Ghana to improve diagnosis and treatment planning.
Musliu Adetola Tolani, MBBS PGCertPH ChM FWACS FMCS, is a clinician with training in Urology and Public Health. He graduated with a medical degree from Ahmadu Bello University and received postgraduate fellowships in Urology from the West African College of Surgeons and the National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. He also holds a Masters of Surgery in Urology from the University of Edinburgh and a postgraduate certificate in Public Health from the University of Liverpool. He currently works as a Senior Lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University and as a Consultant Urologist at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital. Dr. Tolani’s present research focuses on prostate cancer and health disparities. This includes his work on the quality of cancer care, psychological distress and financial burden in cancer patients, barriers and facilitators of clinically localized prostate cancer management, and the development of tools and interventions to optimize prostate cancer care in Nigeria.
Nashivai Kivuyo MD, MMED, is a Surgeon and Clinical Researcher focused on advancing cancer care in resource-limited settings. She is a Lecturer in the Department of Surgery at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) and practices as a surgeon at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). By integrating her clinical expertise with a strong emphasis on research, Dr. Kivuyo works to improve patient outcomes in her community. She has also received grants to study cancer in Tanzania, including the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) Early Career Award, the Tanzania Beat Cancer Junior Faculty Award, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award.
Priscilla (Priz) Espinosa Tamez, MD is a physician and a Fulbright-García Robles scholar from Mexico pursuing a Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Translational Science at UCSF. Dr. Espinosa received her medical degree at the University of Monterrey in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. She worked as a researcher in the Center for Population Health Research at the National Institute of Public Health and as the Manager of the UCSF-Mexico Cancer Collaboration in Mexico. She contributed to the analysis of the results of the Mexican National Cancer Institute and the University of Veracruz colorectal cancer screening studies. She has managed and contributed to the design and analysis of studies that assess the feasibility of colorectal cancer screening in Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico. The UCSF Global Cancer Fellowship will support her studies in the design and implementation of context-appropriate screening interventions in the primary care health system in Mexico.
Nguyen Thanh Sang, MD is a Hematologist/Oncologist at the City Children's Hospital in Vietnam, with a focus on pediatric cancer. After completing his residency, he joined the V-PHO program, which has allowed him to gain invaluable insights from international experts. His research interests lie in improving diagnosis and treatment for children with cancer, particularly sarcoma. From 2020 to 2024, he was involved in a study examining the characteristics of sarcoma at City Children's Hospital. Dr. Sang is deeply committed to improving the quality of life for patients with leukemia, neuroblastoma, brain tumors, and other malignancies.
Ugumba Mussa Kwikima MD, a neuroradiologist at Muhimbili Orthopedic Institute, also serves as an honorary lecturer at Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences. She received undergraduate and postgraduate training at MUHAS, respectively, and a super specialty in neuroradiology at MUHAS, supported by the Radiological Society of North America as a Global Learning Center. Neuroradiology international fellow observership at Emory University, ATL-Georgia, October-December 2022. She is a member of RSNA, ASNR, ASPNR, ISMRM, & SNOSSA. Her areas of research interest are brain tumors (gliomas), neurodegenerative diseases, demyelinating diseases, & pediatrics neuroradiology.
