Training Oncologists and Scientists
A New Generation
Since 2004, we have been training African cancer researchers, oncologists, nurses and other medical professionals to address the rising cancer burden in low-resource settings. Initially, we invited Ugandan clinician-researchers to Seattle for a yearlong fellowship. We have since shifted more of our training efforts to Kampala, in collaboration with Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), so we can support the development of a larger cadre of African cancer specialists and researchers.
Our UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration's primary training programs include the East African Adult Hematology Oncology Fellowship and the NIH D43 HIV-Associated Malignancies training program, which supports several Ph.D. scholars. In 2023, we launched our newest five-year NIH D43 training program focused on cancer genomics and data science in East Africa. We also support the UCI’s clinical care, primarily through a bi-weekly lymphoma tumor board, a medical supplies program and nurse training.
Adult Hematology Oncology Fellowship Program
The East African Adult Hematology Oncology Fellowship, launched in 2018 with support from the African Development Bank to the East Africa Centre of Excellence in Oncology at UCI, is training the next generation of hematologists and oncologists in Uganda and East Africa. Fred Hutch, UW, and UCI faculty and researchers train the fellows in advanced subspecialties and go on teaching rounds with fellows. The comprehensive 18-month curriculum is followed by six months of training in scholarship and research. It is directed by Dr. Abrahams Omoding (UCI) and Dr. John Harlan (UW).
Current Adult Hematology Oncology Fellows
Anne Magdalene Amate, M.B.Ch.B., M.M.ed.
Medical Oncology Track (Spring 2022 Cohort)
Kenneth Kintu, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Medical Oncology Track (Fall 2020 Cohort/2nd Cohort). He is enrolled in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Fellows Program.
Barbra Natukunda, M.B.Ch.B., M.M.ed.
Medical Oncology Track (Spring 2023 Cohort)
Annet Laker, M.B.Ch.B., M.M.ed.
Medical Oncology Track (Spring 2023 Cohort)
Past Adult Hematology Oncology Fellows
Naghib Bogere, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Bogere completed the medical oncology track and his interests include breast and lung cancer. Dr. Bogere was in the Fall 2020 cohort (2nd cohort). He participated in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Fellows Program.
Erick Were, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Were completed the medical oncology track and his interests include gastrointestinal cancer and Kaposi sarcoma. Dr. Were was in the Fall 2020 cohort (2nd cohort). He participated in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Fellows Program.
Alex Bakenga, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Bakenga is a clinical medical officer at UCI and chief resident in the Department of Medicine at Makerere University. His interests include prostate and urology. Dr. Bakenga was in the 2018 inaugural cohort and graduated in 2020.
Innocent Mutyaba, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Mutyaba is a clinical investigator at the Hutchinson Centre Research Institute of Uganda and a volunteer physician at UCI. His interest is Kaposi sarcoma, in which he is a current UCI-Fred Hutch Ph.D. scholar (see below). Dr. Mutyaba was in the 2018 inaugural cohort and graduated in 2020.
Joanne Kayaga, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Kayaga is a medical doctor and part of a multidisciplinary care team at UCI and Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital. Her interests include gastrointestinal and breast cancers. Dr. Kayaga was in the 2018 inaugural cohort and graduated in 2020.
Priscilla Namaganda, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Namaganda is a medical oncologist at UCI. She completed her M.Med. in Internal Medicine at Makerere University in 2013. Her interest is in hematology. Dr. Namaganda was in the 2018 inaugural cohort. Following this training, she started as a UCI-Fred Hutch Ph.D. scholar in August 2022 (see below).
Training in Cancer Research and HIV-associated Cancers
Cancer has become a leading cause of death among people infected with HIV. We are training Ugandan researchers in the study of HIV-associated cancers through doctoral programs and fellowships. The fellows below are currently pursuing doctoral programs through NIH D43 training grants as part of the UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration.
Priscilla Namaganda, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Namaganda is a medical oncologist at UCI. She completed her M.Med. in Internal Medicine at Makerere University in 2013 and the Adult Hematology-Oncology Fellowship at UCI in 2022. Dr. Namaganda joined the UCI-Fred Hutch Ph.D. Scholar program in August 2022.
Solomon Kibudde, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Kibudde is a radiation oncologist at UCI. He completed his M.Med. in Internal Medicine at Makerere University in 2014 and M.Med. in Radiation Oncology at Stellenbosch University in 2021. He was selected from a competitive pool of applicants to become a UCI-Fred Hutch D43 Ph.D. scholar, which he started in August 2022.
Fadhil Geriga, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Geriga is a pediatric oncologist at UCI. He completed his M.Med. at Makerere University in 2012 and was the first fellow to graduate from the Pediatric Oncology Fellowship at UCI in 2018. Dr. Geriga joined the UCI-Fred Hutch Ph.D. scholar program in August 2022.
Margaret “Maggie” Lubwama, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Born in Kenya to Ugandan parents, Dr. Lubwama earned a master of medicine degree from Makerere University in 2009 and became a medical microbiologist and assistant lecturer there. She is now pursuing a doctoral degree in microbiology. She studies blood infections in cancer patients and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a problem of global importance that had not previously been investigated in Uganda.
Noleb Mugisha, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H., M.Med.
Dr. Mugisha was the first person selected for this fellowship program, earning a master’s degree in public health from the University of Washington. He went on to earn a master of medicine degree at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Currently pursuing his Ph.D. training, he is also serving as a research investigator and head of the Comprehensive Community Cancer Program at UCI and is a lecturer at Makerere University.
Innocent Mutyaba, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.
Dr. Mutyaba is an oncologist at UCI with an M.Med. from Makerere University College of Health Sciences. Dr. Mutyaba began his Ph.D. fellowship in January 2016. He completed a 6-week preceptorship in Seattle, WA from February -April 2016 to develop concepts for his primary Ph.D. study proposal, which evaluates the pathogenesis and factors associated with the development of Kaposi Sarcoma Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (KS-IRIS).
Oncology Nursing Training
We provide training in oncology nursing, in partnership with nurses at Fred Hutch, to strengthen clinical oncology research at the UCI while improving outcomes for patients through better clinical care, earlier detection, and cancer prevention. This fellowship program, which launched in 2019, provides training and mentoring to nursing students at Makerere University and elevates nursing capacity at UCI.
Former Fellows
Over time, several fellows have completed a variety of training programs through the UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration. Many former fellows or trainees remain active with the UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration's research and training initiatives.
* Current research investigator or collaborator with the UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration
Victoria Walusansa, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.*
Dr. Victoria Walusansa was the first Ugandan doctor to be trained in an oncology fellowship program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Dr. Walusansa is the deputy director of the UCI and is a member of the UCI-Fred Hutch Collaboration's Executive Committee.
Nixon Niyonzima, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., M.Sc., Ph.D.*
Facing overwhelming conditions in Uganda, Dr. Nixon Niyonzima had the intention of being a cancer specialist – until he learned about a unique partnership.
Emmanuel Seremba, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., Ph.D.*
In 2011, Dr. Seremba was selected for a unique Ph.D. program at the Makerere University, College of Health Sciences, in conjunction with courses taken at the University of Washington. He completed his Ph.D. in 2023.
Henry Ddungu, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., Ph.D.*
Dr. Ddungu began his Ph.D. studies in Seattle with coursework at the University of Washington and clinical oncology rotations at Fred Hutch and Harborview Medical Center. After returning to Kampala in 2012, he continued his doctoral research at Makerere University, studying the optimal use of platelet transfusion for oncology patients at UCI. He completed his Ph.D. in 2023. He is currently a hematologist and director of laboratory operations at UCI.
James Kafeero, M.B.Ch.B., M.P.H., M.Med.*
Dr. Kafeero is a physician and research fellow at UCI, where he has studied delays in obtaining treatment for Kaposi sarcoma.
Fred Okuku, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.*
Dr. Okuku’s participation in this fellowship program began in 2009. He took graduate courses at the UW schools of medicine and public health, participated in clinical rotations at Fred Hutch, and developed a research project to establish a clinical staging system for African endemic Kaposi sarcoma. Dr. Okuku was an investigator on research projects through the Collaboration's NIH U54 grant. He currently serves as an attending physician in medical oncology and director of education at UCI.
Abrahams Omoding, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med.*
Dr. Omoding is the director of outreach and an attending physician at UCI, where he serves as a medical oncologist. He advises and collaborates with Fred Hutch Global Oncology, particularly through the weekly lymphoma tumor board. Dr. Omoding is a co-investigator in a study that aims to understand the molecular signatures of successful cellular immune responses to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Dr. Omoding co-directs the East African Adult Hematology Oncology Fellowship.
Joan N. Mutyoba, M.B.Ch.B., M.S.
Dr. Joan N. Mutyoba joined Global Oncology as a Fellow in 2011 and completed a one-year, graduate-level rotation in Seattle, focused on Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Cancer Epidemiology & Prevention Research.
Amos Mwaka, M.B.Ch.B., M.Med., M.A.
Dr. Mwaka participated in a one-year fellowship. After returning to Uganda, he aimed to establish a program to train rural doctors to diagnose early-stage cancer better.
Adriane Kamulegeya, M.B.Ch.B., D.D.S., M.Sc.
Dr. Kamulegeya joined Global Oncology in 2011 and completed a one-year, graduate-level rotation in Seattle, focused on epidemiology and biostatistics.
Anthony Natif, B.Pharm., M.P.H.
Mr. Natif completed a pharmacy-focused, 13-month oncology fellowship through the HIV-Associated Malignancy Training Program with Fred Hutch.