Anaesthesia Faculty
We have a strong faculty who bring to the department a wealth of experience having trained in some of the best centres in the world. Faculty expertise ranges from clinical excellence to medical education. They actively participate in regional policy development in anaesthesiology including leadership in the Institute of Educational Development, Kenya Society of Anaesthesiologists and the newly launched Kenya Society of Intensive Care Medicine.
Full time Faculty
Prof Marcus Lancé, MD, PhD
Professor and Chair
Prof Marcus Lancé is the Chair, Department of Anaesthesia at Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. After studying medicine at the Berlin Free University Medical School and the Charité (1991-1997), Germany, Dr. Marcus Lancé specialized in Anesthesiology at the Kliniken Maria-Hilf, Mönchengladbach, and the RWTH-Aachen University Hospital (1997-2001). Directly hereafter he continued with an ICU fellowship.
Dr. Lancé moved 2004 to Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands and gained a high degree of experience in cardiac anesthesiology. In 2006 he went to Maastricht University Medical Center+ where he became head of the sub-department of cardiothoracic anesthesia.
Since 2010 Dr. Lancé developed his research in the field of coagulation and hemostasis. The use of laboratory assays for optimization of patient treatment algorithms covered his PhD thesis which he defended in 2013. Next to several diagnostic tests his group developed a mock circulation model which investigated coagulation patterns during extracorporeal circulation.
In January 2017 Dr. Lancé became head of research and vice chair of the Department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar and associate Professor at Well-Cornell-Medical College, Qatar. Since December 2019 he is full clinical Professor for Anesthesiology at Qatar University.
Dr. Lancé (co-)authored more than 90 scientific papers among which the European guideline on perioperative bleeding, the European guideline on perioperative venous thromboembolism prophylaxis and the Dutch guidelines on management of anticoagulation during regional anesthesia.
Rajpreet Bal, M.D.,
Assistant Professor and Vice-Chair
Dr Rajpreet Bal is an Assistant Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa. Dr Bal graduated from Northeastern Universities College of Medicine in 2002 with a Doctorate in Medicine, and Bachelors Degree in Combined Sciences. She joined Anesthesiology training program at New York University, New York, and graduated in 2006 with a Masters in Anaesthesiology.
Thereafter, she completed her Pain Fellowship training program at Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Hospital for Special Surgery in 2007, in New York. She went on to work as an anaesthetist at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Hospital, New York, until 2011. Following that, she joined Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi as a consultant Anaesthetist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Anaesthesiology.
Her interests include ultrasound guided nerve blocks, obstetric anaesthesia, labour epidurals, joint and spine pain, and cancer pain management. She has a keen interest in medical education and training of anaesthesiology residents in Aga Khan Hospital. She is an active member of American Society of Anaesthesiology, American Society of Regional Anaesthesiology and Kenya Society of Anaesthesiologists.
Dr Bal is also a Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Management Specialist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
David Nekyon, MBChB, DA, MMed, FCA (ECSA)
Assistant Professor
Dr Nekyon holds a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery degree as well as a Masters of Medicine in Anaesthesia degree both from Makerere University, Uganda. He is a founding fellow of the college of Anaesthesiologists of East Central and Southern Africa (CANECSA) and was a past chairman of their examinations committee. He did his sub-specialty Fellowship in Cardiac Anaesthesia from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Dr Nekyon is an active clinician with focus on anaesthesia for major abdominal surgery, Urology, ENT, Thoracics and cardiac patients presenting for non cardiac surgery. He runs a busy preoperative anaesthesia assessment clinic and also provides sedation primarily to children undergoing procedures like MRI scans and endoscopy.
His current research interests include clinical audits, spinal anatomy and patient safety in the perioperative period. His teaching interests include basic sciences, anaesthesia equipment, pre operative assessment and cardiac anaesthesia.
Dr Nekyon is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him HERE
Vitalis Mung’ayi, MBChB, MMed(Anaes), FICM(SA), FCA(ECSA)
Associate Professor
Dr Mung'ayi holds a Bachelors of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and a Master of Medicine in Anaesthesia from the University of Nairobi. He was the pioneering residency program-training director for the department of Anaesthesiology-AKU from 2004 to 2008 when he was appointed the Chair of the department a position he served in up to 2015.
He did his certificate in Intensive Care Medicine from the University of Tel Aviv in Israel in 2002, and thereafter a Fellowship in Intensive Care Medicine from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa in 2006.
Dr Mung’ayi practice areas of interest are in perioperative care, medical simulation, intensive care medicine, medical education and research.
Dr Mung'ayi is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him HERE
Dorothy Kamya, BSc. MBBS, FRCA, MSc (Medical Education)
Assistant Professor & Associate Dean, PGME
Dr Kamya is currently the Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education Programme, Aga Khan University, Medical College, East Africa and a Consultant Anaesthetist at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi.
She obtained her Master’s degree in Medical Education from Cardiff University in June 2011. She completed her undergraduate medical degree at University College School of Medicine, London and became a fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, FRCA (UK) in May 2003. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy FHEA (UK) and a member of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME). Her specific areas of practice include ENT and maxillofacial anaesthesia.
Dr Kamya is actively involved in training postgraduate specialist doctors. She oversees the postgraduate specialist medical training at University Hospital Nairobi and faculty development initiatives in Nairobi & Dar es Salaam. She recently participated in and completed the inaugural Harvard Kennedy’s School Transforming Leadership for 21st Century Africa.
Dr Kamya is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
Thikra Sharif, MBChB Assistant Professor
Dr Thikra completed her undergraduate degree MBChB in 1987 at Baghdad University, and proceeded with postgraduate studies in anaesthesia MMed in 1991. She obtained her Graduate Diploma in Pain Medicine in 2002, and Master in Pain Medicine (2001-2004), at the University of Sydney-Pain Management and Research Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital.
In 2005, Dr Thikra pioneered the development of the Rhino Model in Pain education in Africa. She is the founder of the first Multidisciplinary Neuroscience based Pain Management unit in East, Central and Southern African Region in 2005. In 2009 she took charge of the research activities in the department, and introduced the innovative concept of “Groups-Interested in Pain Research.”
She has supervised 12 theses of residents undertaking the Masters Programme. In 2008, she pioneered the development, planning and implementation of the multidisciplinary concepts in pain Medicine and research, and established the ADAPT pain management and rehabilitation programs at the AKUH, Nairobi.
Dr Thikra is also a Consultant Anaesthetist and Pain Management Specialist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
David Misango, MBChB, MMed Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr Misango’s area of expertise spans over 20 years in Critical Care Medicine and Neuroanaesthesiology. He studied at the University of Nairobi where he earned both his MBChB and MMed in 1993 and 2001 respectively. He worked as a consultant anaesthesiologist and intensivist at Kenyatta National Hospital before joining Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi in 2012.
He is currently involved in a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to revise the Anaesthesia Chapter of the Surgical Care at the District Hospital WHO Handbook.
Dr Misango is also involved in a joint initiative of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM) and Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) to train health care providers in rural Africa in matters Critical Care Medicine and re-defining the Surviving Sepsis Guidelines for Resource Limited Countries.
Dr Misango is also a Consultant Anaesthetist and Critical Care Specialist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him HERE
Wangari Siika, MBChB, MMed(Anaes), FRCA (UK), EDIC Clinical Associate Professor
She also possesses critical care and clinical research training from Oxford University and Harvard Medical School respectively. Her clinical areas of interest include quality of care in resource-limited countries, point-of-care ultrasound and Sepsis. Dr Siika loves baking and singing during her free time.
Dr Siika is also a Consultant Anaesthetist and Critical Care Specialist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
Samina Mir, MBBS Clinical Assistant Professor
Dr Samina is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Anaesthesia, AKU Medical College, East Africa. She holds a Master of Medicine in Anaesthesia with a specialization in Obstetrics Anaesthesia from the University of Nairobi and a Bachelor of Science Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
Dr Mir is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
David Odaba, MBChB, MMed, FICM Assistant Professor & Programme Director
Dr Odaba is an Assistant Professor and Programme Director, Department of Anaesthesia, AKU Medical College, East Africa. He graduated from the University of Nairobi, School of Medicine in 2005 with an MBChB degree. He joined Aga Khan University for a Master of Medicine in Anaesthesiology and graduated in 2013. He then joined the North Cumbria University Hospitals in the United Kingdom for a 2-year fellowship in Intensive Care Medicine, which he completed in September 2017.
Dr Odaba has worked as Resident consultant anaesthesiologist and intensivist at The Aga Khan Hospital Kisumu, as well as a Clinical fellow in Intensive Care Medicine at the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust in the UK prior to joining Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi as a consultant Anaesthesiologist and Intensivist. His areas of interest include Medical Education as well as improving outcomes in critically ill patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
He is a member of the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, Critical Care Society of Kenya, Royal College of Anaesthetists as well as the Kenya Society of Anaesthesiologists.
Dr Odaba is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him HERE
Gilbert Mwaka, MBChB, MMed, FIPM
Clinical Assistant Professor
He later obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Pain management from the University of Sidney in 2013 and a Master of Medicine in Pain Management from the same university in 2015. His clinical areas of interest include; Interventional pain management procedures of all kinds, psychology of pain with capacity to provide brief psychological interventions, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinical research in pain management.
Dr Mwaka's extracurricular interests are in awareness of the principles and practices of pain management through education and clinical practice for the medical fraternity and the public and developing collaborations with other Universities in improving pain medicine education and clinical.
Dr Mwaka is also a Consultant Anaesthetist & Pain Management Specialist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about him HERE
Wangui Thang'a, MBChB, MMed (Anaes) Senior Instructor
Dr Wangui Thangá is a Senior Instructor and Consultant Anaesthetist at the Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa.
Dr Wangui graduated from the University of Nairobi with a MBChB degree in 1999 and earned her MMed degree in Anaesthesia at the Aga Khan University Medical College, East Africa in 2012. In addition, she has Fellowships in Paediatric Anaesthesia and Paediatric Intensive Care at the UCT, Royal London Hospital – UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children -UK).
Dr Wangui is a member of the Kenya Society of Anaesthesiologists, College of Anaesthesiologists of East Central and Southern Africa and the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
Her areas of interests are in paediatric anaesthesia, critical care and acute pain management and medical simulation.
Dr Wangui is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
Angela Ongewe, MBChB, MMed (Anaes), FAPCA (SA) Senior Instructor
Dr Ongewe holds a Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Nairobi, a Master of Medicine in Anaesthesia from the Aga Khan University and a Fellowship in Adult and Paediatric Cardiothoracic Anaesthesiology from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
She is a fellow of the College of Anaesthesiologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (CANESCA) and is a member of the Kenya Society of Anaesthesiologists and the Critical Care Society of Kenya.
Dr Ongewe is an active clinician who provides an array of anaesthesia modalities for a varied case mix spanning a wide range of patient demographics. She also trains postgraduate doctors and has served as a trainer of trainers for Transoesophageal Echocardiography (TOE), Basic and Advanced Focused Assessed Transthoracic Echocardiography (FATE), the Resuscitation Council of the United Kingdom (European Paediatric Advanced Life Support) and Safe Anaesthesia from Education – Obstetrics (SAFE-OBS).
Her interests include cardiothoracic and vascular anaesthesia, perioperative medicine including point of care ultrasound, regional anaesthesia, research, medical education and training for clinical teaching with a keen interest in simulation education.
Dr Ongewe is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
Carolyne Muiru, MBChB, MMed (Anaes)
Senior Instructor
Dr Carolyne Muiru is a Senior Instructor in the Department of Anaesthesia, AKU Medical College, East Africa. With over 15 years of experience, Dr Carolyne holds a Master of Medicine in Anesthesiology and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree from the University of Nairobi.
Her responsibilities include providing high-quality anaesthesia and critical care services, supervision and mentorship of postgraduate and undergraduate students and enhancing the ACGME accredited clinical education programme through innovative methodologies.
As a global collaborator, she implemented the Kenyan Critical Care Registry (Critical Care Asia Africa), BREATHE (Oxford and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre), PITS (Strathmore and Pittsburgh University) and ASOS 2 (ASOS 2 Collaborators).
Dr Carolyne is a founding fellow of the College of Anesthesiology of East and Central Africa (CANESCA). She was involved in curriculum development and implementation of the collegiate anaesthesiology residency programme in Kenya.
She is a member of the Critical Care Society of Kenya (CCSK), Kenya Society of Anaesthesiologists (KSA), World Federation Society of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), and World Federation of Intensive and Critical Care (WFICC).
Dr Carolyne is also a Consultant Anaesthetist at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. Read more about her HERE
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