About the Directors

KEDU Directors are physicians who have demonstrated excellence in their respective areas of leadership, and whose passions align with a particular aspect of KEDU’s mission.

Dr. Clive Nyauncho M.D, MHA

Director of Mentorship

Dr. Clive Nyauncho, M.D., MHA, is a passionate and ardent advocate for health equity, determined to serve the needs of the uninsured and underinsured with limited access to health care. Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Nyauncho grew up appreciating nature, the wonder of science and exploring ways to solve problems. The journey to practicing Internal Medicine as a hospitalist with a focus on value-based medicine has taken him through several institutions, namely: North Hennepin Community College, University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic Medical School, University of Massachusetts, and the world famous Morehouse School of Medicine.

The trials and tribulations have served as motivation for Dr. Nyauncho to inspire the next generation of physicians. With a tenacious drive to master his craft, he finds joy in community service and is passionate about increasing the number of minorities into the field of medicine, and, ultimately, bridging the healthcare gap through inclusion and collaborative efforts. Clive relaxes by drawing portraits, traveling and glamping, and exploring investment opportunities.

Dr. Christine Ngaruiya, MD, MSc, DTM&H

Creator and Founder

is Assistant Professor in the Section of Global Health and International Emergency Medicine in the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) at Yale University. She completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Nebraska, and residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She completed a fellowship in Global Health in the DEM at Yale in 2015, at the same time matriculating with a Master of Science in Tropical Medicine and International Health, and Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her research interests center on: Non- communicable Diseases (NCDs), barriers to care, community-based interventions and ethics in clinical practice with a particular focus on Africa.

She has worked on several collaborative projects with organizations in East Africa including Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia, having worked with KEMRI-Wellcome Trust, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Africa Mental Health Foundation (Nairobi), and is currently funded by a USAID grant doing work on food security in East Africa.Her current work includes partnership with Ministry of Health collaborators in Kenya targeting NCDs. Her past professional work has focused on health disparities amongst minority populations in the U.S. (including refugees) and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) including founding the service learning program “Bridge to Care” in Nebraska, one of the largest refugee resettlement states in the U.S., that has reached over 5,000 refugees and won multiple accolades since its inception in 2010.

Some past honors include: the Emergency Medicine Resident’s Association (EMRA) Augustine D’Orta Award, Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance Associate and Harambe Pfizer Fellow Award, in addition to being selected the 2016 Outstanding International Alumnus by the Nebraska Alumni Association. Amongst former positions, she also served as a career services intern, mentoring trainees across the spectrum on the job search, and continues to do so in her role as faculty at Yale.

She has held several national leadership positions including with: the American Medical Students’ Association (AMSA), the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA), the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine’s (SAEM) Global Emergency Medicine Academy and the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH)-Global Health Education Consortium (GHEC)-Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) Trainee Conference and Advisory Committee, and has lectured both nationally and internationally on topics related to NCDs. She is a member and regular contributor to the Young People’s Chronic Disease Network (YP-CDN) and the U.S. Investigators’ Global NCD Research Network Steering Committee. Additionally, she served on the Research Symposium Committee for the African Congress on Emergency Medicine in 2014, and is on the Scientific Research Committee for 2016.

For more information about Dr. Ngaruiya, you can find her Linkedin profile here.
In addition to joining faculty in the DEM in 2015, she was also selected as one of twenty Yale Public Voice Fellows for 2015-2016 from across campus with publications in a variety of outlets such as Time, Huffington Post, The Hill, among others.

Dr. Carolyne Njeri Kuria, MD

Director of Communications

Dr. Carolyne Njeri Kuria, MD, was born in Kikuyu, Kenya. She is a first-year Internal Medicine resident at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in California. She graduated with Honors from St. George’s University School of Medicine and completed her undergraduate degree in English Writing with a minor in Biochemistry.

Dr. Jonathan Awori, MD, MS, MFA

Director of Network Engagement

Jonathan Awori is a Pediatric Chief Resident at Seattle Children’s Hospital. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital/University of Washington during which he was awarded the Outstanding Peer Teaching Award in 2020. In 2018, he was selected as a New Century Scholar by the Academic Pediatric Association (APA). During his residency tenure at Seattle Children’s, Dr. Awori developed an interest in Pediatric Cardiology, focusing on the use of Virtual Reality and 3D Printed Technology to enhance trainee understanding of Congenital Heart Disease. He was also actively involved in global health through Seattle Children’s REACH program including on site work in Kisii, Kenya using Theatre in Health Education (THE) to address local health issues.

Prior to residency, Dr. Awori attended the University of Michigan Medical School on a full merit based scholarship. He further obtained a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research where his primary research examined the barriers to obtaining pediatric neurosurgical care in Kenya. Prior to medicine, Dr. Awori spent several years as a Theatre professor and actor, specializing in musical theatre and Shakespeare. He has evolved his background in the arts to pursue work in medical humanities including the use of theatrical improvisation to enhance medical communication. Most recently, Dr. Awori matched into the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship program at Harvard University/Boston Children’s Hospital where he will begin his training in July 2021. He looks forward to building on his threefold interest in Cardiology, Global Health and Medical Humanities.

Dr. Mariam Ali-Mucheru, MD

Co-Director US/ Diaspora Programming

Mariam Ali-Mucheru, MD, is a board-certified General Surgeon and fellowship-trained Endocrine Surgeon. She graduated from Medical College of Georgia as a medical doctor and completed her General Surgery training at Mayo Clinic Arizona. She then went on to complete Endocrine Surgery training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr.Ali-Mucheru grew up in Kenya and Uganda and immigrated to Atlanta, GA for college. She is passionate about global surgery and surgical education. She joined KEDU because of the opportunity to build community, collaborate and advocate.

Barbara Odac, MD

Director of Trainee Engagement

Barbara Odac, MD, a graduate of Kenyatta University School of Medicine, Nairobi, Kenya and current KEDU Intern. She has a great passion for global health as well as clinical research and this has seen her participate in studies ranging from reproductive health, gastroenterology, as well as rapid oral HIV testing in Africa.

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