In 2018, the Department’s global health partnerships extending to Africa have solidified into Diagnostic Radiology (DR) involvement in Malawi and Interventional Radiology (IR) involvement in Kenya.
Assistant Professor Dr. Brett Murdock’s oversight of UNC Radiology Malawi Program demonstrates how physician service initiated during residency takes root when that individual joins faculty post-graduation. Dr. Murdock first traveled to Lilongwe as a 4th-year resident in 2015. There, he witnessed KCH’s team approach to administering patient treatment in a minimally-resourced healthcare setting. Dr. Murdock embraced making a difference during his time at KCH, participating in procedural and diagnostic consultations, rendering workflow-improving reports and delivering a lecture series to KCH radiologic technologists. This effort was co-developed with UNC Division of Radiologic Science (University program partner) trainees.
Dr. Murdock now provides faculty leadership as the UNC Radiology Malawi Program Director. He facilitates a range of departmental activities when UNC teams visit KCH, such as overseeing the early 2018 installation of a multi-TerraByte network security and storage device donated by the Department. Additionally, he has provided mentorship to 4th-year residents who have developed projects to accomplish while in Lilongwe. By the end of this academic year, 4th-year residents Drs. Kaleigh Burke and Josh Wallace will have both worked with Dr. Murdock toward clinical and didactic goals that advance this program. Both residents were awarded an American College of Radiology (ACR) Goldberg-Reeder Resident Travel Grant to support their travel.
This spring, Professor of Radiology and IR Residency and Fellowship Program Director Dr. Robert Dixon and Adjunct Assistant Professor Dr. Brian Baigorri traveled to the University of Nairobi’s Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiation Medicine. While there, Drs. Dixon and Baigorri completed an assessment of IR services co-developed by UNC’s Divisions of Vascular-Interventional Radiology, Division of Radiologic Science, and RAD-AID International.
Working with Kenyan colleagues, Drs. Dixon and Baigorri methodically evaluated the existing Department of Radiology infrastructure. They used the RAD-AID IR Readiness Assessment Tool for Global Health – described a year prior by Melissa Culp, former IR fellow Dr. Aaron Kline, Radiology Technologist Megan Brown, and Dr. Dixon.1 This tool allowed Dixon and Baigorri to conduct an objective assessment of imaging services at the University of Nairobi and report the findings to RAD-AID leadership. These efforts identified that the University of Nairobi has the foundation that could be used to create a sustainable IR fellowship, through a partnership with RAD-AID, the University of Nairobi and the University of North Carolina. The plan is to initiate a two-year IR fellowship at the University of Nairobi in 2019. The training program will serve the East Africa region, which to date has no regional IR fellowship.
During their time in Nairobi, Drs. Baigorri and Dixon also taught basic IR procedures to residents, facilitated a lecture series, lead case-based interactive sessions and presented at the inter-disciplinary tumor boards. These two dedicated radiologists are true global health ambassadors.
Drs. Murdock and Dixon oversee separate programs in East Africa, yet their work intersects through serving as Global Health Faculty Advisors for UNC’s chapter of RAD-AID International, a non-profit founded by top-tier academics in 2008. Worldwide, RAD-AID chapters increase radiology’s contribution to global public health initiatives and patient care in developing regions through improving and optimizing access to medical imaging.
To sustain UNC’s institutional contribution to RAD-AID’s mission, these Faculty Advisors work closely with UNC Division of Radiologic Science leadership. In 2012, Assistant Professor Melissa Culp led this division’s collaboration with Department faculty to co-found UNC’s RAD-AID Chapter, and she currently serves as RAD-AID International’s Vice President and COO.
The UNC Department of Radiology continues to be a leader in global health with its educational partnerships in Malawi and Kenya. These sites will continue to bring opportunities for UNC DR and IR residents to participate in sustainable global health initiatives the more departmental partnerships in each country grow.
- Kline AD, Dixon, RG, Brown MK, Culp MP. Interventional Radiology Readiness Assessment Tool for Global Health. J Global Radiology. 2017;3:1-5.