Visiting Scholar Ms. Mehal Churiwal.

Ms. Mehal Churiwal has been awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study postinfectious hydrocephalus in Uganda over a period of nine months starting September 2022. She will be under the advisement of Assoc. Prof. Edgar Mulogo, the Head of Department of Community Health at MUST and Prof. Ross Boyce from UNC-CH, who developed the longstanding MUST-UNC partnership.

Her project entitled, “Environmental Drivers of Pediatric Hydrocephalus in Uganda,” addresses one of the most prominent  neurosurgical conditions in the country; one that disproportionately affects young children. There have been limited studies seeking to understand the causes of post-infectious hydrocephalus (PIHC) as related to immediate environmental factors, and thus her project fills an important knowledge gap.

The first component of project will encompass home visits to administer surveys regarding potential factors associated with PIHC in the home environment, followed by continuous monitoring of the patient’s medical prognosis through their primary caregiver.

Mehal will be conducting this research project on pediatric hydrocephalus in Uganda in collaboration with  partners at MUST, CURE Hospital Uganda, and St. Paul’s Level IV Heath Centre in Kasese.