My name is Henry Kamugisha. I am currently a first-year Ph.D. student at Notre Dame, studying Biological Sciences with a focus on Malaria Epidemiology and Control. Prior to coming to Notre Dame for my MSGH, I received my undergraduate degree from Makerere University in Uganda, where I majored in Biological Science in Medical Radiography/Imaging.
After receiving my undergraduate degree, I worked in a hospital for five years. But I realized that we were not doing enough to disconnect the treatment-relapse cycle of the common ailments local people faced. We treated people with therapeutics, but then they would come back again with the same problems. So I decided to get into preventative medicine and public health.
When I started the MSGH program, I thought I was going to focus on policy and governance. I thought if I could influence the policies back home, I could change the system. But as I was going through orientation, I learned about vector biology. And it was then I realized that one of the biggest problems back home was malaria. When I was nine years old, malaria claimed the life of my beloved grandmother. So I changed my focus.
MSGH capstone project: “The Impact of Travel on Malaria Transmission in the Ethiopian Highlands.”
I was encouraged to do my capstone in a place where I was less familiar. So for my field research, I ventured to the Ethiopian Highlands.
As I was collecting field data, I was surprised to see how interconnected seemingly small factors can be for malaria transmission and how human travel, even at a local level, could alter the dynamics of malaria in low-transmission areas like the Ethiopian Highlands. One day, I had an interview with a health worker. She shared that in the Highlands, cases of malaria often increase after people return from market days in the Lowlands, where malaria is more prevalent.
That conversation highlighted the human side of the data I was analyzing. It is about the real people, their lives, and the challenges they face in controlling malaria. It raised the importance of designing interventions that are evidence-based, as well as practical and responsive to the realities of communities. People in the Ethiopian Highlands cannot stop going to market days in the Lowlands. That moment deepened my commitment to connecting research that translates to actionable solutions for the people who are most affected.
My MSGH experience at Notre Dame was very transformative. It shifted my perspective on what it means to contribute to global health. I’m especially grateful for the mentorship from the faculty and my research advisor, Dr. Cristian Koepfli. I experienced doing things beyond my own capacity. Some opportunities were overwhelming, though I engaged with communities in Ethiopia and applied my work in meaningful ways. This whole amazing experience inspired me to keep going to pursue my Ph.D.
For me, my experience in the program was a blessing.
The University of Notre Dame’s Eck Institute for Global Health recognizes health as a fundamental human right and works to promote research, training, and service to advance health standards and reduce health disparities for all. The Master of Science in Global Health (MSGH) program helps to lead this mission and enables students to bridge classroom training with complex, real health needs of low-resource communities around the world through hands-on experiences in capstone field research projects.
To learn more about the University of Notre Dame’s Master of Science in Global Health program, please visit our website or contact Kim Bogold, Global Health Training Coordinator, at kmerz1@nd.edu.
Originally published by at globalhealth.nd.edu on March 05, 2025.