2013 Awardee: Dr. Damalie Nakanjako
Dr. Damalie Nakanjako Named Winner of Fourth Annual Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award
On behalf of the Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award selection committee, Accordia Global Health Foundation is pleased to announce Dr. Damalie Nakanjako as the 2013 winner of the prestigious award.
Damalie Nakanjako, MD, PhD, is an internist whose work focuses on optimizing HIV treatment outcomes and reducing HIV-associated morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently a Lecturer in Makerere University's Department of Medicine and a Wellcome Trust post-doctoral Research Fellow in Infection and Immunity at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI).
"Damalie has proven herself as a leader and mentor. She is a bright, committed, productive woman who is focused on academic medical research which is hypothesis-driven and translational with clear relevance for sub-Saharan Africa," said Dr. Yuka Manabe, Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and former Head of Research at IDI.
The award--created in 2010 in memory of Dr. Merle Sande, a founder of Accordia and renowned infectious disease specialist--recognizes the efforts of emerging African healthcare leaders who have contributed significant improvements to the health of their home communities and embody Dr. Sande's passion, intellectual drive, and spirit.
"Merle had a profound vision for a place that nurtured promising young African physicians and scientists and empowered them to transform health throughout the continent. That dream came to fruition through the establishment of the Infectious Diseases Institute and through doctors and researchers like Damalie," said Accordia's Executive Chair Dr. Warner C. Greene. "She is an outstanding researcher whose numerous projects are advancing the quality of care in Uganda and throughout Africa."
"Congratulations to each of the other applicants as well, who represent an impressive and diverse group of emerging leaders in the healthcare field from across Africa," added Dr. Greene. Accordia presented the award to Dr. Nakanjako on April 23, 2013, at Davis Hall at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
For more information about the Merle A. Sande Health Leadership Award, please click here.
