Victoria Walusansa-Abaliwano (née Victoria Walusansa), is a

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

, who works as the Deputy Director of the

Uganda Cancer Institute Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) is a public, specialized, tertiary care medical facility owned by the Uganda Ministry of Health. The facility is located along Upper Mulago Hill Road, on Mulago Hill, in the Kawempe Division of Kampala, about north o ...

(UCI), a cancer treatment and research institution, based in Kampala, Uganda and serving the countries of the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the ...

area.

Background and education

She was born in the Central Region of Uganda, circa 1972. In 1992, she was admitted to

Makerere University School of Medicine The Makerere University School of Medicine (MUSM), also known as the Makerere University Medical School, is the school of medicine of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university. The medical school has been part of Makerer ...

, graduating in 1997 with a

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(MBChB) degree. Four years later, she returned and enrolled in the postgraduate programme, graduating in 2004 with a

Master of Medicine Master of Medicine (MMed) is a postgraduate professional clinical degree awarded by medical schools to physicians following a period of instruction, supervised clinical rotations, and examination. The degree usually takes three years to complete, ...

(MMed) degree in Internal Medicine. Later, for a period of 14 months, from July 2007 until August 2008, she trained as a post-doctoral Oncology Fellow, at the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out o ...

, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, USA.

Work experience

In 2004, after her MMed studies at Makerere, she reported to work at Uganda Cancer Institute, to work and study under the Director of the Institute, Dr. Jackson Orem, who at the time, was the only trained specialist oncologist at UCI. But Dr. Orem had just been appointed as

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

and was very busy, so she was on her own most of the time. In 2007, an opportunity came up in the form of a full scholarship to train as an oncology fellow at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center in

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. She took the opportunity, supported by her family and her employer. She is the first Ugandan doctor to undergo the oncology fellowship training at Fred Hutch. As of August 2014, a total of 16 Ugandan oncologists had undergone the training. As of November 2017, Victoria Walusansa-Abaliwano is the Deputy Director and Head of Clinical Services at UCI. She also worked as a lecturer in the Department of Medicine, at the adjacent

Makerere University College of Health Sciences Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) is a constituent college of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university. The schools of the college offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the biomedical sciences, health science ...

(MUCHS), until her resignation in May 2011.

Family

She is married to Mark Abaliwano, a dental surgeon, and together are the parents of three daughters.

References

External links

Website of the Uganda Cancer InstituteBreast cancer more aggressive in men
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walusansa, Victoria Living people 1972 births Ganda people Ugandan women physicians Makerere University alumni People from Central Region, Uganda Ugandan oncologists Ugandan healthcare managers 21st-century Ugandan women scientists 21st-century Ugandan scientists Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center people

Background and education

Work experience

Family

See also

References

External links