Nwaba Named Havey Institute for Global Health Post-Graduate Fellow

October 2025

Adaure Nwaba, MD, MS, surgical resident in the Division of Plastic Surgery, has been named the 2025-2026 Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health Post-Graduate Fellow, which recognizes post-graduate trainees at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine by promoting innovative global health research, education and training programs. 

“Global health is constantly evolving, and I’m motivated by the breadth of people not only in the field committed to providing care for patients, but also in sustainable practices to improve provider training opportunities, empower patients and advocate for more cohesive health systems at local and national levels,” Nwaba said. 

Nwaba and colleagues at the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA) 31st Annual Scientific Convention in Lagos, Nigeria in April 2025.

Nwaba first became involved with global health through her family. Her grandparents established the Mezu International Foundation, an organization with historical origins that stem from more than 40 years of philanthropy. The foundation is organized exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes, with specific goals toward charity for the needy and underserved in the United States and Africa. 

“Growing up, I witnessed [the foundation’s] growth from an organization that provided annual free medical missions into its current model of an established outpatient health center for its community,” Nwaba said. “Observing my family being able to give back to their community through their various medical backgrounds inspired me to become a physician and inspired my love for public and global health. Since then, I have sought to combat domestic and global health inequities and advocate for patients through both clinical and research-based formats.” 

Working in the Department of Surgery, Nwaba maintains multifaceted research goals. She is involved in craniofacial/pediatrics research, health equity and global health research related to breast cancer. She hopes to develop a relationship with Lakeshore Cancer Center in Lagos – the first operational facility in Nigeria dedicated to cancer prevention and treatment – for both clinical and research work, deepen her understanding of the barriers to breast reconstruction and lymphedema care for patients, and help to improve a breast cancer support group at the cancer center.  

Along with her long-term goals, Nwaba is currently working on multiple projects. Her work – focused in Sub-Saharan Africa, primarily Nigeria – includes evaluating patient utilization of a breast cancer survivorship program in Nigeria, assessing the financial barriers to cancer care in Sub-Saharan Africa and the utility of a novel financial navigation program to alleviate those concerns in Nigeria, and identifying the current ability to provide comprehensive breast reconstruction for breast cancer patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Nwaba also has a deep investment in mentorship of students interested in medicine and plastic surgery, especially students of color and those who are underrepresented in medicine. 

“To treat a diverse world and patient population, it requires a diverse training force with varying experiences and backgrounds that can help inform care,” Nwaba said. 

With global health and equity at the forefront, Nwaba volunteers with ReSurge International, an organization dedicated to improving the surgical capacity for plastic surgery globally through training programs and advocacy, and recently participated in a medical service trip to Puerto Rico through her plastic surgery residency program and the organization Fundacion de Ninos de Puerto Rico. 

Nwaba learned improvements to patient care and outcomes at Plastic Surgery The Meeting (PSTM), an annual surgery conference, with fellow plastic surgery residents and physician assistants in September 2024. 

Nwaba collaborates with Juliet Lumati, MD, MPH, from the Center for Global Oncology, a joint center between the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Havey Institute for Global Health; Sumanas Jordan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Surgery (Plastic Surgery) at Feinberg School of Medicine; and Chad Purnell, MD, from Shriners Hospital for Children. 

“I have been inspired this year by the work I have seen others commit to by sustainably bringing change to communities they care about, and witnessing how it has become an inherent part of their professional and academic work,” Nwaba said. “I am committed to health equity work locally and abroad, and aim to continue developing this passion as I progress in my career.” 

The Havey Institute for Global Health offers support to postdoctoral research fellows and postdocs enrolled at Feinberg through the Post-Graduate Global Health Fellowship Program. The program is funded by the Global Health Initiative, which is supported by Northwestern Medicine Primary and Specialty Care, its patients and Feinberg donors. The post graduate research program is open to fellows in obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, and family and community medicine. 

Applications for the 2026-2027 Post-Graduate Fellowship in Global Health are being accepted until February 1, 2026.

Juliet Lumati, MD, MPH, is an assistant professor of Surgical Oncology and member of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Center for Health Services & Outcomes Research (CHSOR). Sumanas Jordan, MD, PhD, is a member of the Impact Institute, the Buehler Center for Health Policy and Economics and Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). 

For more details and to apply, visit the Post-Graduate Fellowship in Global Health website. 

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