Alwi Rashid Mohamed
Nairobi, Kenya → Toronto, Canada
Alwi Rashid Mohamed is a final-year neurosurgical resident at Kenyatta National Hospital and the University of Nairobi in Kenya, with a focused clinical and academic interest in pediatric neurosurgery. His fellowship is designed to address a critical gap in Kenya’s health system, where pediatric neurosurgical care remains severely under-resourced despite a large and growing pediatric population. Upon completing his training, Dr. Mohammed will be posted to Kenya’s coastal region—serving a catchment area of over six million people—to help establish and lead neurosurgical services.
Through this fellowship, Dr. Mohamed will undertake an observership at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto under the mentorship of Professor Peter Dirks, gaining exposure to advanced pediatric neurosurgical subspecialties including craniofacial surgery, epilepsy surgery, cerebrovascular neurosurgery, and complex spine care. His training will emphasize multidisciplinary care models, evidence-based perioperative workflows, and strategies for translating high-complexity pediatric neurosurgical services into scalable, sustainable models suited to resource-limited environments. Dr. Mohammed is committed to returning to Kenya to strengthen local systems, mentor future surgeons, and advance pediatric neurosurgery as a national priority.
Dr. Goumantar Felicien Toudjingar
N’Djamena, Chad → Madison, USA
Dr. Goumantar Felicien Toudjingar is a neurosurgeon at CHU La Renaissance in N’Djamena, Chad. His fellowship is focused on strengthening neurosurgical capacity through advanced exposure to microsurgery, surgical neuroanatomy, and academic neurosurgery—areas that remain limited within the current health system in Chad. With prior international training experience in France, Dr. Toudjingar seeks to further refine his surgical and academic expertise in order to support the long-term development of neurosurgical care in his home country.
Dr. Toudjingar will undertake this fellowship under the mentorship of Professor Mustafa M. Baskaya at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where he will observe neurosurgical services, participate in microsurgical and neuroanatomy training, and engage in neurosurgical education and research. He is committed to returning to Chad upon completion of the fellowship to apply these skills toward strengthening local neurosurgical practice, expanding training opportunities, and improving access to specialized neurological care.
Dr. Hoai Dinh
Da Nang, Vietnam → International Fellowship Site
Dr. Hoai Dinh TP is a neurosurgical trainee from Da Nang, Vietnam, committed to advancing neurosurgical care within Vietnam’s growing health system. Through this fellowship, Dr. Hoai seeks focused international exposure to strengthen core neurosurgical knowledge, clinical judgment, and system-level perspectives that can be applied in both academic and clinical practice upon return home.
This fellowship will provide Dr. Hoai with the opportunity to observe established neurosurgical services, gain exposure to best practices in patient care and clinical workflows, and broaden professional experience within an international training environment. Dr. Hoai is committed to returning to Vietnam following the fellowship to contribute to local neurosurgical services, support ongoing workforce development, and help strengthen sustainable neurosurgical capacity within the country.
Dr. Peniel Abera
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia → Rome, Italy
Dr. Peniel Abera is a Chief Neurosurgery Resident at Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and is set to graduate in February 2026.
Dr. Abera will undertake an observership at San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome from May to July 2026 under the mentorship of Professor Luciano Mastronardi.
During this fellowship, he will focus on advanced microsurgical dissection and endoscopic skull base techniques, observe multidisciplinary clinical workflows, and develop quality improvement strategies tailored to his home institution. His training will also emphasize research, leadership development, and the establishment of a cost-effective surgical skills laboratory to strengthen neurosurgical training in Ethiopia. Dr. Abera is committed to returning to Ethiopia to help build sustainable, high-quality neurosurgical services that serve the country’s population of more than 130 million people and contribute to neurosurgical advancement across Africa.
Dr. Irakli Kazaishvili
Tbilisi, Georgia → Hyogo, Japan
Dr. Irakli Kazaishvili is a neurosurgeon in training from Georgia with a focused interest in vascular neurosurgery. Through this fellowship, he seeks advanced subspecialty exposure to strengthen his surgical foundation and prepare for future practice in a setting where access to highly specialized vascular neurosurgical training remains limited.
Dr. Kazaishvili will undertake this fellowship at Hyogo Medical University under the mentorship of Professor Shinichi Yoshimura, where he will spend three months observing neurosurgical services and advancing his knowledge in vascular neurosurgery. This experience will allow him to deepen his technical understanding, gain exposure to high-volume cerebrovascular care, and translate best practices back to his home country. Dr. Kazaishvili is committed to returning to Georgia to apply these skills toward strengthening neurosurgical capacity and improving patient care within the local health system.
Dr. Sana Qazi
Karachi, Pakistan → Phoenix, USA
Dr. Sana Qazi is a neurosurgeon based in Karachi, Pakistan and is actively practicing and training in neurosurgery. She is a recipient of the FIENS Kassam Family Fellowship, a fellowship awarded to support promising neurosurgeons from Pakistan seeking advanced subspecialty exposure through international mentorship and training.
Her fellowship is driven by a strong desire to gain advanced neurosurgical skills and knowledge aligned with recent technological advancements not yet widely available in Pakistan. Access to cutting-edge neurosurgical techniques and high-volume subspecialty exposure remains limited in many training environments across the country. Through this fellowship, Dr. Qazi aims to broaden her clinical experience, observe complex neurosurgical cases, and acquire knowledge that she will bring back to Pakistan to strengthen neurosurgical care and improve patient outcomes across underserved settings.She will pursue her three-month fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Lawton at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, USA
