About Us
Our Vision
The vision of the Johns Hopkins Global Surgery Initiative is to improve health equity by increasing access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care worldwide. We will achieve our vision through our six strategic pillars, PEARLS:
- Partnership: Investing in meaningful, long-term bilateral partnerships with low- and middle-income country institutions.
- Education: Training the global surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia workforce and the next generation of global surgery leaders.
- Advocacy: Generating political priority for global surgery in the United States and in other where we work.
- Research: Building the evidence-base for locally identified research priorities.
- Leadership: Developing and modelling best practices in global surgery.
- Service: Providing surgical, obstetric, and anesthesia care to those in need.
Meet Our Team
Learn more about our multidisciplinary team dedicated to improving the surgical care of patients across the globe.
Kent Allen Stevens, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Johns Hopkins Global Surgery Initiative
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Interim Chief, Acute Care Surgery
Director, Adult Trauma Services
Global Surgery Interest: My interest in global surgery has centered on defining the burden of injury and developing trauma systems in resource-poor settings. Through partnerships and projects with organizations such as Bloomberg Philanthropies and the World Health Organization I have worked in a number of countries to improve the care of the injured. More recently, my global surgery efforts have been directed to build capacity in Ethiopia (with the American College of Surgeons), Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya and India.
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Interim Chief, Acute Care Surgery
Director, Adult Trauma Services
Global Surgery Interest: My interest in global surgery has centered on defining the burden of injury and developing trauma systems in resource-poor settings. Through partnerships and projects with organizations such as Bloomberg Philanthropies and the World Health Organization I have worked in a number of countries to improve the care of the injured. More recently, my global surgery efforts have been directed to build capacity in Ethiopia (with the American College of Surgeons), Uganda, Mozambique, Kenya and India.
Haniee Chung, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Vice Director of Global Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
JHCGS Pillar: Education
Global surgery interests: Curriculum development and sustainable program building through education.
Vice Director of Global Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
JHCGS Pillar: Education
Global surgery interests: Curriculum development and sustainable program building through education.
Daniel Sangkyu Rhee, M.D., M.P.H.
Associate Director, Johns Hopkins Global Surgery Initiative
Director, Pediatric Surgical Oncology Program
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Global Surgery Interest: My interests in global surgery focus on improving outcomes in pediatric surgery, pediatric oncology, and neonatal surgery. This has included efforts focused on health systems, surgical education, and surgical workforce development. This work has been undertaken through partnerships in Ghana and Liberia.
Director, Pediatric Surgical Oncology Program
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Global Surgery Interest: My interests in global surgery focus on improving outcomes in pediatric surgery, pediatric oncology, and neonatal surgery. This has included efforts focused on health systems, surgical education, and surgical workforce development. This work has been undertaken through partnerships in Ghana and Liberia.
Arushi Biswas
MD Candidate, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Class of 2026
JHCGS Role: Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: global plastic surgery, global pediatric surgery, capacity building, engineering, strengthening health systems
Elizabeth Khvatova
MSPH, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Class of 2024
JHCGS Role: Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: quality of care, access to surgical care, strengthening surgical health systems, surgical education and workforce capacity
Noor Alesawy
MHS in Global Health Economics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Class of 2024
JHCGS Role: Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: innovations, neurosurgical care capacity building, surgical education and systems development, surgical health economics and financing, collaborative international research and policy
Michelle Odonkor, M.D., M.P.H.
Resident, Department of Neurosurgery
JHCGS Role: Former JHCGS Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: Neurosurgical care capacity building, surgical education and workforce development, building sustainable surgical infrastructure.
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JHCGS Role: Former JHCGS Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: Neurosurgical care capacity building, surgical education and workforce development, building sustainable surgical infrastructure.
Ian Wong, M.D.
MPH Candidate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
JHCGS Role: Former JHCGS Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: capacity building, surgical systems strengthening, trauma systems, collaborative international research
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JHCGS Role: Former JHCGS Program Co-coordinator
Global surgery interests: capacity building, surgical systems strengthening, trauma systems, collaborative international research
Alexander Blum, M.D., M.P.H.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Class of 2023
JHCGS Role: Former JHCGS Program Coordinator
Global surgery interests: capacity building through longitudinal partnerships, intersectionality of neglected-tropical diseases and surgical care in low-resource settings
JHCGS Role: Former JHCGS Program Coordinator
Global surgery interests: capacity building through longitudinal partnerships, intersectionality of neglected-tropical diseases and surgical care in low-resource settings
Nancy Abu-Bonsrah, M.D., M.P.H.
Resident, Department of Neurosurgery
JHCGS Pillar: Education & Research
Global surgery interests: neurosurgical care capacity building, neurotrauma, neurocritical care, neurosurgical education
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JHCGS Pillar: Education & Research
Global surgery interests: neurosurgical care capacity building, neurotrauma, neurocritical care, neurosurgical education
Zachary Enumah, M.D., Ph.D.
Resident, Department of General Surgery
JHCGS Pillar: Partnership
Global surgery interests: capacity building, referral health care, delivery of cardiac surgery (specifically for rheumatic heart disease patients).
JHCGS Pillar: Partnership
Global surgery interests: capacity building, referral health care, delivery of cardiac surgery (specifically for rheumatic heart disease patients).
Eric Etchill, M.D.
Resident, Department of General Surgery
Hugh R. Sharp, Jr. Investigator in Cardiac Surgery
JHCGS Pillar: Education
Global surgery interests: cardiac surgery, surgical systems development, trauma systems, surgical education
Hugh R. Sharp, Jr. Investigator in Cardiac Surgery
JHCGS Pillar: Education
Global surgery interests: cardiac surgery, surgical systems development, trauma systems, surgical education
Alodia Gabre-Kidan, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director, Surgery Clerkship
JHCGS Pillar: Education
Global surgery interests: My interests are primarily focused on the development of sustainable surgical infrastructure across settings with differential levels of available resources.
Director, Surgery Clerkship
JHCGS Pillar: Education
Global surgery interests: My interests are primarily focused on the development of sustainable surgical infrastructure across settings with differential levels of available resources.
Hillary Jenny, M.D., M.P.H.
Resident, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
JHCGS Pillar: Partnership
Global surgery interests: global plastic surgery, craniofacial surgery, surgical workforce development
JHCGS Pillar: Partnership
Global surgery interests: global plastic surgery, craniofacial surgery, surgical workforce development
Rahul Koka, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
Surgical Director for Quality and Logistics, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
Global surgery interests: My areas of interest are related to quality and safety training. We have performed long-term quality improvement projects in west Africa using techniques such as Medical Simulation, Failure Modes Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Hospital Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS).
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Surgical Director for Quality and Logistics, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center
Global surgery interests: My areas of interest are related to quality and safety training. We have performed long-term quality improvement projects in west Africa using techniques such as Medical Simulation, Failure Modes Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Hospital Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS).
Adam Laytin, M.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine & Emergency Medicine
JHCGS Pillar: Research
Global surgery interests: I focus primarily on understanding the burden of medical emergencies, critical illness and trauma in low- and middle-income countries to develop data-driven quality improvement and capacity building initiatives. I have collaborated internationally with clinicians and researchers in Ethiopia, India, South Africa and Israel.
JHCGS Pillar: Research
Global surgery interests: I focus primarily on understanding the burden of medical emergencies, critical illness and trauma in low- and middle-income countries to develop data-driven quality improvement and capacity building initiatives. I have collaborated internationally with clinicians and researchers in Ethiopia, India, South Africa and Israel.
Chao Long, M.D., M.P.H.
Resident, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Previous: Research Fellow, Curtis National Hand Center; Donald R. Laub Fellow, ReSurge International
JHCGS Pillar: Research
Global surgery interests: surgical workforce development, surgical education, metrics for outcomes evaluation and patient-centered development, global plastic surgery
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Previous: Research Fellow, Curtis National Hand Center; Donald R. Laub Fellow, ReSurge International
JHCGS Pillar: Research
Global surgery interests: surgical workforce development, surgical education, metrics for outcomes evaluation and patient-centered development, global plastic surgery
Dominique Vervoort, M.D., M.P.H., MBA
PhD student in Health Services Research - Health Technology Assessment,
Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
Founder and President, Global Cardiac Surgery Initiative
Advisor, Global Surgery Foundation
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Founder and President, Global Cardiac Surgery Initiative
Advisor, Global Surgery Foundation
