✨ Wednesday, August 13th ✨ Our journey took us from Mbarara → Fort Portal 🚐. Along the way, we passed through Kibale National Park, where baboons lined the roadside 🐒, and we crossed back into the Northern Hemisphere stopping at the equator landmark for a quick photo op 📸. In Fort Portal, we visited the newly established Satellite Laboratory, welcomed by Dan, head of biomedical engineering and a longtime Ekyaalo collaborator. We shared our prototype, answered questions fro

On Tuesday, August 12th, our team visited the Western Uganda Cancer Institute 🏥. We spoke with a clinical pharmacist and chemotherapy nurse 💊, learning about the challenges they face — from chemotherapy drug shortages to adapting treatment plans when supplies run low. Nurse Sarah shared how she supports women 💪💗 through the emotional toll of cancer and helps them stay committed to their treatment. The institute treats all cancer types 🎗️, receiving about 100 new cases ea

Monday August 11th the team spent an inspiring day at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital and Mbarara University of Science & Technology. We kicked off the morning by joining a pathology defense where the focus was on Triple Negative Breast Cancer and Gastric Adenocarcinoma. Hearing about cutting-edge research and joining the academic discussion was a real highlight. 🧬💬 Next, we toured the pathology and chemistry laboratories, asking questions to compare healthcare and patho

Sunday August 10th the team drove 8 hours to Mbarara the western region of Uganda. A computer science student named Denise from Uganda Christian University decided to join us on our venture. On our drive we stopped at the equator to straddle the northern and southern hemisphere while stretching our legs and grabbing a bite to eat. The team arrived safely in Mbarara checked into hour hotel and met for dinner where we debriefed the previous week and planned for the upcoming wee

Saturday August 9th the team rested and stayed in for most of the day until getting hungry and venturing out to try a local street food dish called a Rolex. We got it from Ugoroll and it was delicious!!

On Friday August 8th the team explored the bright history and culture of Uganda by learning about the largest tribe, Buganda. We visited the Kubuki Tombs where the four kings of Buganda are buried. We learned of their political influence on the country and participated in a ceremony to recognize a royal marriage. Additionally we visited the Entebbe Botanical gardens where we fed monkeys, bird watched and relaxed with a view of Lake Victoria. The team had the opportunity to bo

On Thursday, August 7th, our team visited Lancet Laboratory 🧪 a private lab with locations across Uganda, Europe, and South Africa. The Kampala branch we toured is the only Lancet lab in Uganda performing pathology. Most pathology is completed in-house by just two pathologists, while immunohistochemistry is sent to South Africa via air courier ✈️. After an inspiring conversation on digital pathology, we agreed to collaborate with Lancet to access their archive of breast can

Wednesday August 6th the team had the pleasure of visiting the Infectious disease Institute (IDI) where we interviewed Dr. Aggrey and got a tour of the pathology department. 🦠Additionally we learned of some of the drone and AI technology programs being instituted to alleviate the healthcare burden in rural areas of Uganda. In the late afternoon we met with madam Gertrude who is a cancer survivor and founded the Uganda Women’s Cancer Support Organization. 🎗️We discussed with

Tuesday August 5th the team went to visit Makerere University Department of Biomedical engineering. We met with the head of the department to discuss a future partnership between Makerere University and Johns Hopkins University. We also learned of the in country manufacturing capabilities to determine how we may engineer our device for manufacturing in Uganda. An undergraduate student named Denise joined us who has previous experience with AI. Additionally we visited the BME

Monday August 4th the team split into groups of 3 to visit 2 district hospitals and 2 health center IVs. We had the opportunity to interview lab technicians, midwives/ nurses and radiographers. Additionally we had the opportunity to scrub into the operating room at a health center IV to observe a c-section. 👩‍🍼☢️🩺 Interviewing and touring the rural health centers in the villages gave the team further insight into how and where best a digital cytology and tele-health soluti