Nelson K. Sewankambo MB ChB, MSc, M.MED, FRCP, Professor of Medicine, trained in general medicine and internal medicine at Makerere University, Uganda and later in clinical epidemiology at McMaster University, Canada.  From 1997, for 11 years, he served as the Medical School Dean at Makerere University, and since then has been Principal (Head) of College of Health Sciences. 

He is a board member for FAIMER, a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and an External Affiliate member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM).  He serves on the IOM Global Forum on Innovations in Health Professional Education.  He is the Principal Investigator on a multi-country research capacity building consortium involving seven African institutions and two universities in the UK, (Cambridge University and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine).  He is the Chair of an Africa-wide initiative for Strengthening Research Capacity in Africa (ISHReCA), the Director of the Medical Education for Equitable Services for All Ugandans (MESAU) – MEPI Consortium, and Chair of the African Medical Schools Association (AMSA).

Building on his ground-breaking early HIV/AIDS research (1980s) in rural Rakai district of Uganda, he has had a 30 year effort of epidemiological and intervention research in HIV/AIDS research with nearly 200 peer reviewed publications. In 2012 him and his team demonstrated the high efficacy of medical male circumcision in the prevention of HIV transmission to male partners of HIV positive females. Prof Sewankambo has added a new focus on understanding the epidemic in fishing communities around the East African Lake Victoria, areas of persistent high HIV incidence possibly contributing to sustaining the epidemic. For 10 years now he has led efforts to develop the internationally renowned Makerere Infectious Diseases Institute known for its high quality HIV/AIDS research. He has also been at forefront of research in knowledge translation leading to the demonstration that a rapid response mechanism is feasible in a low resource environment to address policy makers and practitioners’ needs.

His awards include: Honorary Fellowship London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Honorary Doctoral Degree Johns Hopkins University, Doctor of Laws, HC, McMaster University, Grand Silver Award Karolinska Institute, FCRP London, External Associate Institute of Medicine, USA,  Fellow TWAS, Fellow/President Uganda National Academy of Sciences, Leadership Award AED SatelLife Center for Health IT.