Roy Mugerwa
Roy D. Mugerwa (January 2, 1942 – April 19, 2019) was a Ugandan physician, cardiologist and researcher. His contribution to the world of academics include being a Professor Emeritus at Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, cardiology in Uganda, researching HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and his efforts to find an effective HIV vaccine. Background Dr. Mugerwa was born on January 2, 1942, to Yowana Ziryawula and Maria Namatovu. He pursued his education at St. Mary's College Kisubi for both the O-Level and A-Level and was at the top of his class for all six years. Upon graduation, he admitted to Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university, and completed both undergraduate and masters programs. He received training in medicine and cardiology at Mulago Hospital and also pursued higher level instruction in the United States, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. He then returned to Uganda and developed a career in Kampala, serving as faculty at both Mulago Hospital and Makerere University. Career Early career Dr. Mugerwa's initial specialization was cardiology, and this is what he pursued in the early stages of his career. By 1972, he was one of the first five research fellows to be trained at Mulago Cardiac Clinic, which is the precursor of the present-day Uganda Heart Institute (UHI). Not only did Dr. Mugerwa have a role in founding UHI, but he also served as both Executive Director and Director. Among his other efforts in the world of cardiac health in Uganda are introducing the practice of echocardiography, founding the country's first hypertension clinic, and establishing the Uganda Heart Association. HIV/AIDS epidemic Dr. Mugerwa's career would take a turn away from cardiology after the discovery of HIV/AIDS being present in Uganda. When scientist Wilson Carswell first confirmed there were HIV positive patients in Mulago Hospital in 1984, Dr. Mugerwa was part of a team that joined him as they went Masaka and Rakai and ascertained that the virus had spread there too. They published their findings in 1985, believing these Ugandans suffered from a manifestation of AIDS called Slim Disease, although it would later be known that they were dying of AIDS. In October 1985, shortly after their Slim Disease publication, Dr. Mugerwa attended a Workshop on AIDS in Central Africa, which was put on by the World Health Organization (WHO). The workshop discussed the establishment of an AIDS Surveillance System in every African country, which would be charged with confirming the presence of AIDS and collecting data. Dr. Mugerwa, along with two other colleagues, was appointed to Uganda's AIDS Surveillance Sub-Committee, and by 1986 they had succeeded in implementing public health efforts such as educational programs, supplying condoms, and screening potentially infected blood donors. They also emphasized mutual monogamy, openly disclosing one's HIV status, and increasing the number of available HIV tests. In the 1980s, Dr. Mugerwa was the Director of Medicine at Mulago Hospital, where the patient prevalence of AIDS reached up to 40% in 1988. During this time, he struggled with low access