Episode 44: Dr. Ramla Kasozi
Dr. Ramla Kasozi is a board certified family medicine physician and advocate. Having lived in three different parts of the world (Canada, Uganda, and USA) and worked in the health sector in two different countries (Uganda and USA), Dr. Kasozi has had the privilege of seeing healthcare in different settings.As a former refugee child, she recalls the many frustrations and disappointments her parents had experienced while navigating the health care system. Dr. Kasozi’s keen interest in refugee health has been life long with particular interest in tackling health disparities through health equity initiatives. Working as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (CHE) Fellow at Emory University’s Center for Humanitarian Emergencies, Dr. Kasozi conducted research with the Emergency Response and Recovery Branch (ERRB) on refugee health and participated in projects to offer primary healthcare to the uninsured, refugee population in Atlanta. As a former refugee, it was such an honor for Dr. Kasozi to give back and help the migrant refugee population in the community. Consequently, her experience at Emory has given her working knowledge of quantitative and qualitative research. Witnessing the impact of racial bias and the various microaggressions her parents experienced as Ugandan refugees, really sparked her interest in becoming a doctor. Dr. Kasozi completed her Family Medicine Residency at the University of Minnesota’s St. John’s Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program. During her residency training, she was involved in scholarly and community work addressing health equity and race-based medicine.As a Board-Certified Family Medicine Physician, Dr. Kasozi plans on continuing her scholarly work in improving medical education to be more relevant to communities. She practices full-scope Family Medicine while also working in academic medicine. She plans on bridging comprehensive clinical care with community public health in an effort to reduce health disparities by creating community-oriented primary health care initiatives. In the long-term, Dr. Kasozi hopes to pursue translational research and establish domestic and global health collaborations dealing with refugee health.