Lameck Chinula, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, was awarded the Constance B. Wofsy Award at the recent Advancing Clinical Therapeutics Globally (ACTG) Network Meeting, recognizing his contributions to women’s health.
“Dr. Chinula is a wonderful and charismatic person and leader, with an upstanding character who has a bright future in network leadership roles, and he enthusiastically engages young learners to advance the future generation of investigators,” said Mina Hosseinipour, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, scientific director of UNC Project-Malawi and member of the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases.
Chinula joined UNC Project-Malawi (UNCPM) in August 2005, as a study coordinator and junior medical officer for NIH-HIV network clinical trials. They included the Phase III, vaginal microbicide trial HPTN 035 and ACTG studies including A 5175, A5221, and HPTN 052. After three years, the Fogarty International Center and UNC’s Clinical Training Grant from the Gilead Foundation sponsored his post-graduate residency training in OB/GYN at the University of Cape Town. After successful completion of this program, Chinula returned to UNC Project-Malawi to serve as a consultant OB/GYN physician to the Kamuzu Central Hospital, senior research investigator and head of the OB/GYN program at UNCPM, and the Malawi College of Medicine honorary faculty. In 2017, Dr. Chinula became the leader of the Malawi Clinical Research Site leader, part of the Institute’s Global Clinical Trials Unit. He was also appointed Associate Professor in the UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology within the Division of Global Woman’s Health.
Chinula is a practicing OB/GYN physician at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, where he leads the Cervical Cancer screening and management program for the KCH. He is also the only OB/GYN surgeon in all of Malawi who performs radical hysterectomies for treatment of cervical cancer. He serves on multiple international and national technical working groups focused on women’s health. A few of these committees include the World Health Organization Guideline Development Group for the Initiation and Frequency of Cervical Cancer screening among women living with HIV; the Malawi Immunization Technical Advisory Group; and the Malawi National Cancer Task Force. Through these roles, he applies network associated research findings to policy. He also provides insight into goals and objectives of the Ministry of Health so that appropriate research for local priorities can be aligned with ACTG network research.
As a mentor, Chinula has actively supported junior Malawian medical doctors and study coordinators at the Malawi CRS, and the primary supervisor for four Malawi MMED research projects in support of OB/GYN residency completion requirements. He has also supervised Fogarty Fulbright and Fogarty Global Health Fellows in the last few years.
The Constance B. Wofsy Women’s Health Investigator Award was established to honor the memory of Connie Wofsy by recognizing investigators who have made significant contributions to research in women living with HIV and who embody qualities exemplified by Dr. Wofsy. Awardees demonstrate the ability to mentor junior investigators, engage in on-going clinical involvement caring for women living with HIV, and address priority areas for girls and women living with HIV research.