2023 MCS Keynote Speaker and Presenters | UNC Project Malawi Cancer Program

Introducing our distinguished keynote speaker and presenters who will be addressing the audience at the forthcoming Malawi Cancer Symposium

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

Dr. Susan C. Msadabwe-Chikuni is a clinical and radiation oncologist at the Cancer Diseases Hospital, the sole radiation therapy facility in Zambia. She serves as the Head of Clinical Care, coordinating the hospital’s clinical, research, and training operations. Furthermore, she holds the position of National Director for the specialist training program in Clinical Oncology, supervising the specialization of medical doctors into clinical oncologists in Zambia. This program has garnered interest from trainees not only within Africa but also beyond its borders

PRESENTERS:

Dr Beatrice Lydia Matanje is currently, a Medical Director for Partners In Health/APZU , where she leads integration of NCDs and HIV services in a Chronic Care Clinic model, with implementation of cervical cancer interventions, as one of key programs under her directorate. She led a District Health system for 4 years, followed by 5 years of pioneering the successful establishment of Malawi’s national NCD program as a National Program Manager.

Dr. Geoffrey Buckle is a gastrointestinal oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). His current research focuses on the etiology, early detection, and treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Eastern Africa. He is a Steering Committee member and past Chair of the African Esophageal Cancer Consortium, a research consortium of more than 80 physicians and scientists working in Eastern and Southern Africa to advance multidisciplinary research on ESCC across the cancer care continuum.

Dr Gift Mulima, a General Surgeon at Kamuzu Central Hospital, is a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) and COSECSA’s Country Representative. He is a member of the World Association of Laparoscopic Surgeons (WALS) and the African esophageal cancer consortium (AFrECC). As a skilled gastrointestinal endoscopist, he is involved in a number of oesophageal cancer studies in Malawi.

Maud Mwakasungula serves as the Executive Director of the Women’s Coalition Against Cancer (WOCACA). She is also the Chairperson for the Non-Communicable Diseases Alliance -Malawi. Demonstrating a strong commitment to public health advocacy, Maud has established herself as a leading figure in the fight against NCDs and the promotion of women’s health in Malawi.

Dr. Tamiwe Tomoka, is the co-director of the UNC Project Malawi Cancer Program alongside Dr Yuri Fedoriw. She leads the UNC/Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) Pathology Laboratory, that offers pathology clinical and research diagnostic services to the Northern and Central region of Malawi thus serving almost half of the 20 million Malawi population. Dr Tomoka is a principal investigator for a prospective breast cancer cohort study at KCH and a co-investigator offering pathology diagnostic expertise in cancer research studies including cervical cancer, Kaposi sarcoma, breast cancer, lymphoma and oeosphageal cancer in Malawi and Sub Saharan Africa.

Dr. Yuri Fedoriw, is a hematopathologist and the co-director of the UNC Project Cancer Program alongside Dr. Tomoka. He has been involved in UNC Project Cancer Program since 2011, where he has helped develop and support pathology diagnostic services in support of the Kamuzu Central Hospital Lymphoma Study, AIDS Malignancy Consortium and NIH-funded clinical trials. His laboratory work aims to identify prognostic and predictive biomarkers of lymphoma relevant to the Malawian context. Dr. Fedoriw is a Principal Investigator of the Malawi Cancer Outcomes Research Training Program funded by the US National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Jonathan Chiwanda, Deputy Director Curative and Medical Rehabilitation Services NCDs & MH. Dr. Chiwanda will provide updates on the development of the National Cancer Treatment guidelines.

Dr. Jonathan Ngoma is the hospital director of Kamuzu Central Hospital who will be presenting on the UNC Project Malawi/KCH, MOH collaboration: Progress and future engagement with National Cancer Treatment Center

Dr. Solomon Rotimi is a Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and co-Chair of the research committee of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC). His research focuses on understanding the contributions of genomics and environmental factors, including pathogens, nutrients and xenobiotics to cancer disparity in Blacks, using a cocktail of genomics, molecular and bioinformatics tools

Dr. Nmazuo Ozuah is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and the Medical Director of Texas Children’s Hospital Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology-Pediatric-Excellence) Program in Malawi. Global HOPE partners with the Ministry of Health of Malawi and Kamuzu Central Hospital to provide inpatient and outpatient care to children with cancers and blood disorders at the Malawi National Cancer Center

Dr. Kate Westmoreland is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist whose research focuses on conducting clinical research in pediatric and adolescent patients with Burkitt Lymphoma and Hodgkin Lymphoma in low resource settings.

Dr. George Chagaluka is a pediatric oncologist and oversees the pediatric cancer unit at Queen Elizabeth’s Central Hospital

Mr. Odala Sandram a teacher at Mvera Girls Secondary School who was diagnosed with cancer and relayed his story.

Moussa Kindo is the head of mission/country director at Médecins Sans Frontières. He has worked with MSF the last 10 years in Yemen, Central Africa Republic, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Iraq, Syria, Congo, Chad, South Soudan, Niger, Ivory Coast, and Malawi.

Dr. George Chilinda is a Gynaecologist working as a consultant Gynecological Oncology Surgeon in the MSF, MoH and KUHeS Gynecological Oncology Unit at QECH.

Chifundo Makwakwa, is a professional Nurse Midwife, with BSc in Public Health and Master’s in Business Administration. Currently, she is working with Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) as Senior Program Associate in Cervical Cancer Program.

ABSTRACT PRESENTERS:

Dr. Lusayo Simwinga, who is a committed medical officer with developing interest in clinical oncology. Her area of interest is breast cancer with focus on improving outcomes through advocating for inequalities reduction. She will present Analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Survival for Patients Without Metastatic Disease in A Prospective Breast Cancer Cohort in Malawi

Fred Chimzimu, who is a cytologist at Kamuzu Central Hospital Pathology Laboratory with strong interest in health care quality improvement through research to fuel evidence-based change. He will present The Contribution of Patients and Health System Factors to The Diagnosis Breast Cancer Among Female Patients Presenting at Kamuzu Central Hospital

Sam Makuti is a Senior M&E Officer at Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Malawi under the Global Hematology & Oncology Program. He has strong programing and M&E background in HIV, TB, Child Protection, Adolescent Health, and pediatric Hematology & Oncology.

Dr. Alexandra Lindsay-Perez is a doctor from the UK with an interest in geriatrics and palliative care, who has been working with Ndi Moyo Palliative Care Centre since January 2023.

Dr. Maganizo Chagomerana is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and the Director of the Analysis and Manuscript unit at University of North Carolina Project–Malawi.

Dr. Agatha Bula is the Director of Nursing at UNC Project Malawi and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at UNC School of Nursing in Chapel Hill. Healthcare Provider Perspectives on Integrating HIV- and Cancer-Related Service Delivery in Malawi, Zimbabwe, And South Africa

Dr. Casey McAtee pronounced “Mack – uh – tee”) , is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist working at KCH for Texas Children’s Global HOPE program. His research background is in clinical research, epidemiology, and implementation science. He will present on Feasibility of Curative-Intent Pediatric AML Therapy in A Low Resource Setting: A Report from Lilongwe, Malawi, 2015-2022

Dr. Rizine Mzikamanda is a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist with an interest in understanding immunological and genetic modifiers of childhood leukemia and lymphoma in children in Africa. He will present on Impact of Early Mortality and Treatment Abandonment on The Prognostic Value of Minimal Residual Disease and Immunophenotype In Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Sub-Saharan Africa

Beatrice Kabota is a Public Health specialist with a nurse midwife background working with Nkhoma Hospital, with a decade experience in fighting cervical cancer as a cervical cancer screening provider, mentor and trainer. Currently working as National Coordinator for Malawi Scotland Cervical Cancer screening and Mentoring project (MALSCOT).

Fraser Tembo is an experienced Monitoring and Evaluation Officer with specialty in design, analysis and reporting of health information systems.

Dr. Nicholas Teodoro is an obstetrician and gynecologist and investigator in the Women’s Cancer Research Division at the Clinical HIV Research Unit in Johannesburg, South Africa

Tarsizious Chikaonda is a data scientist with a passion for extracting meaningful patterns from healthcare data and contribute to innovative solutions in patient care.

Jenny Coelho is a PhD student working under Dr. Yuri Fedoriw at UNC Chapel Hill, who is interested in understanding the relationship between HIV and Lymphoma in sub-saharan Africa.

Dr. Marriam Mponda is a hard-working Medical Officer with a strong background in clinical practice. Her area of interest is oncology, encompassing both clinical and research oncology.

To see the full agenda, please follow this link: Agenda MCS 2023