Makerere University 2019 Course Lecturers
Associate Professor Noeline Nakasujja is the Chair for the Department of Psychiatry at the College of Health Sciences, Makerere University. Her research interests include geriatric psychiatry and cognitive impairment in HIV/AIDS. She served on a number of associations including the International Psycho-geriatrics Associations, the World Psychiatric Association, Association of Uganda Women Doctors, The Network: Towards Unity for Health, among others. Her work has focused on neurocognitive assessments across the life span as well as other areas in the field of psychiatry. She is currently a principal investigator on a study evaluating the stress and caregiver burden of individuals looking after patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the community. She has been honored with a number of awards and more recently was the recipient of the James Kimani award 2017, Society of Neuroscientists of Africa.
Dr. Dickens Akena is the local convener for this workshop, and is a psychiatrist and a Senior lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda. His role at Makerere University includes teaching undergraduate and post graduate students, mental health research and patient care. Dr. Akena conducts his clinical duties at the Butabika National Referral Hospital for mental health. Dr. Akena has published over 20 papers in peer reviewed journals and has attended a number of systematic review training courses, including an intense competent based 10-week on-line PRIMER course from Stellenbosch University (2017), GRADE training from the Cochrane group in Kampala (2016), and the introduction to systematic review course in 2013 that was delivered by the Makerere University Africa Centre for Systematic Reviews and the EPOC (Cochrane Centre in Norway). He was a recipient of a Cochrane Fellowship in 2014, and has published 5 systematic reviews and 1 protocol as lead and co-author (including a recent Cochrane review on efficacy of antidepressants), and has submitted over 8 protocols as lead and co-author for peer review. Dr. Akena has been teaching designing and submitting systematic review protocols for publications at the Mbarara University of Science and Technology since 2016.
Dr. Catherine Abbo is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University. Dr Abbo holds an MBChB, M.Med (Psych), a PhD in Transcultural psychiatry from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, and an Mphil (with distinction) in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from University of Cape Town in May 2017. She currently leads the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and mental health course in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Abbo is a Post-Doctoral fellow with the Makerere–Sida Fellowship programme. Dr. Abbo’s research and clinical interests are in the areas of developmental psychiatry and mental health, particularly in relation to prevention of mental disorders and building mental resilience in children and adolescents, and the mental health of adolescents in school.
Associate Professor Wilson Winstons Muhwezi is an Associate Professor of Behavioural Sciences & Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences. He obtained an MPhil (Health Promotion) from University of Bergen in 1998 and a PhD in Medical Science offered jointly by Karolisnka Institutet, Sweden and Makerere University, Uganda in 2007. Dr. Muhwezi was a SIDA/SAREC post-doctoral research fellow (2010–2014) and investigated sexuality, mental well-being and reproductive health decisions among adolescents peri-natally infected with HIV in Uganda. Dr. Muwhezi has authored over 30 scholarly articles in international peer reviewed journals and produced several policy papers/briefs on topical issues, textbook chapters and has participated in numerous consultancy reports. Dr. Muwhezi has a wealth of over 25 years of experience in design and implementation of qualitative research in the fields of psychosocial work, mental health, and reproductive health.
Dr. Erisa Mwaka is a clinician, academician, bioethicist and orthopaedic surgeon by training. His research interests span spine disorders, bone health in HIV, occupational health, human anatomy, medical education and bioethics. He has a bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery, and Master of Medicine in Orthopaedic surgery from Makerere University; Master of Social Sciences in Health Research Ethics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa and a PhD from Fukui University, Japan. He is a senior lecturer of Human Anatomy and teaches orthopaedics, bioethics, health professional ethics and professionalism. He chairs the Makerere University School of Biomedical Sciences Higher Degrees and Research Ethics Committee and is a member of the bioethics working group at Uganda National Council for Science and Technology (UNCST) and Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS). He also teaches short courses in bioethics at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Forgarty funded International Health Research Ethics Training (IHRET) program. He actively participates as a member of the Forum for Research Ethics Committees (FRECU) in Uganda to promote the ethical conduct of biomedical research. Previously, he participated in the Bridging Biobanking and Biomedical research across Europe and Africa (B3 Africa) and H3 Africa consultative meetings. He is an H3 Africa principal investigator and a U01 National Institutes of Health grant awardee under the H3 Africa consortium investigating the Ethical and Societal Issues of genomic research in Uganda.
Dr. Janet Nakigudde obtained a joint Karolisnka Institutet and Makerere University PhD in Psychology in 2011. Dr. Nakigudde is a product of the Johns Hopkins-Fogarty African Bioethics Training Program Award. As a bioethicist, Dr. Nakigudde is an integral part of a number of ethical review committees at Mengo Hospital and the Makerere University School of Medicine. Dr. Nakigudde is working on a draft manuscript entitled “Oversights of IRBs and the Uganda National Human Subjects Regulatory Body in Mental Health Research.” Dr. Nakigudde is the Ugandan lead of the Africa Ethics Working Group for the NeuroGAP project.
Dr. Moses Ocan is a lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics at Makerere University. Dr. Ocan received a PhD in Pharmacology at Makerere University in 2017. Dr. Ocan has successfully conducted and completed two systematic reviews on antimicrobial resistance, and a commissioned review by the DFID. Currenlty, Dr. Ocan has two protocols that are under peer review, and is an active member of six on-going systematic review teams as co-investigator. In his field as a pharmacologist, Dr. Ocan has published several papers in peer review journals and is a reviewer in a number of journals in the area of antimicrobial agents and resistance medicine use in communities. He is currently undertaking Post-Doctoral fellowship research on validation of molecular markers of artemisinin resistance among African P. falciparum parasites. Dr. Ocan trains and supervises undergraduates in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, biomedical sciences and radiology.
Dr. Andrew Turiho is a clinical Social Worker specialized in mental health and a Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University. He has rich experience in teaching Foundations of Behavioral Sciences, Medical Sociology and Anthropology, and Social Psychiatry to medical students at Makerere University. He has facilitated four annual qualitative research methods training courses for health professionals at Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) under the Mbarara University Research Training Initiative (MURTI). He has also facilitated a one-week Manuscript Writing Training Workshop for fellows under The Mbarara Alzheimer’s and related Dementias Research Initiative (MADRI) Fellowship at MUST. Dr. Turiho is experienced in designing and implementing research projects using both survey and qualitative approaches. He has conducted several knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) studies in diverse sub- sectors; social impact assessment of projects as well as baseline, mid-term and end-term evaluation of social intervention programs. His main research interests are adolescent health and social impact assessment of development interventions.
Faith Nawagi has a BS Nursing from Makerere University College Of Health Sciences with wide experience in research, community health, social entrepreneurship, grant writing, program management, and building partnerships as well as cross-cultural linkages, in Africa and across the globe. She is the GEMx African Representative and is passionate about elderly care and hopes to promote the field of gerontology.