Director and Professor of Global Surgery

Prof. Chu is a general and colorectal surgeon. She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University. She completed her medical d​​egree and general surgery residency at the University of California- San Francisco. She was a Fulbright scholar at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where she received a Master's degree in Public Health and Developing Countries. She is an adjunct professor at University of Botswana (Department of surgery), a Board member of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health and the inaugural director of the Centre of Global Surgery.​​

Post-Doctoral Fellow 

Dr Tshabalala is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Equi-Injury project. She founded Imijelo yophuhliso Foundation after completing her PhD in Disability Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her keen interest is in using photo-voice and cartoons as Participatory Action Research tools to raise consciousness while mobilising community groups into social action, inclusive and compassionate leadership. Her major interests include that of contributing towards disability and financial inclusion, achieved through the establishment of Financial Resource Centres, the contact points where, in their communities, people collaboratively interrogate socio-economic challenges, receive support and mentoring on sustainable ways of addressing identified challenges.

Research Assistant 

Mr. Tshabalala holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Admin & Sociology. He worked as a Youth Projects Coordinator at Imijelo, and has been involved in facilitating community engagement and participation in collaborative research as a strategy to addressing identified social challenges and disability inclusion.  Currently, he is working as a research assistant on a Equi-injury project which aims to improve access to quality care for people who are injured in low and middle-income countries. He is passionate about nurturing inclusive communities and youth empowerment.

Research Assistant 

Ms. Alberts holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Biochemistry, an Honours degree in Medical Science, specialising in Microbiology and Virology, from the University of the Free State. Ms. Alberts holds her Master’s in Public Health, with a focus on Epidemiology & Biostatistics, at the University of Cape Town. 

With a profound interest in public health, Ms. Alberts is particularly passionate about improving access to surgical care, advancing public health initiatives, and enhancing data availability within the scientific community. Her dedication to these areas is reflected in her current work on the Equi-injury project, aimed at enhancing the quality of care for individuals sustaining injuries in low- and middle-income countries.

Doctoral student

Ms. Louw is a virology and cancer science professional. She received her undergraduate degree in Chemical Biology, followed by an honour's degree in Medical Virology. She then completed her Master of Philosophy in Cancer Science, at the African Cancer Institute. All of her degrees were completed at the University of Stellenbosch. She is currently pursuing her doctorate in Healt​h Systems and Public Health.​

Extraordinary Senior Lecturer

Dr. Lubna Samad is a paediatric surgeon based in Karachi, Pakistan, and is dedicated to improving patient outcomes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. She holds positions as Director at Interactive Research and Development (IRD) Global and Chairperson of the Board of Directors at IRD Pakistan. Dr. Samad has contributed to the development of innovative strategies to overcome healthcare delivery challenges in the Global South. Her work spans across research, implementation, and policy initiatives in global surgery. She led the development of Pakistan's national surgical plan and conducted the Country's first national surgical indicators survey. Dr. Samad is also involved in conceptualizing and modeling the surgical component of Pakistan's Universal Health Coverage Benefits Packages. She holds various leadership positions and is actively engaged in organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Global Initiative on Children's Surgery, and MSF's Transformational Investment Capacity Selection Committee.​

Extraordinary Professor 

Prof. Davies is the Professor of Global Health at the Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham. Her academic interest includes producing evidence to build systems for improved and equitable access to quality health care, particularly in diseases amenable to surgery (including trauma) or in cardiovascular diseases. Her research covers disciplines from epidemiology to qualitative research, health service assessment, predictive modeling, economics, and implementation science. Currently she works with partners in Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Malawi, South Africa, and Ethiopia on projects with local institutes and academics to ensure capacity building.  

Extraordinary Senior Lecturer

Dr. D’Ambruoso is a senior lecturer in Global Public Health, Aberdeen Centre for Health Data Science, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen. She is a social scientist and health policy and systems researcher interested in service organisation and delivery, the social determinants of health, and participatory theory and method. She has 20 years of international work with universities, research agencies and networks, UN organisations, and governments at different levels. Presently, she investigates child and adolescent mental health, injury and trauma care in South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Ghana and Pakistan.​