Dr. Christians holds a Master of Medicine in Family Medicine (University of Cape Town), a Master of Public Health (University of Umea, Sweden), and a Fellowship from the College of Family Physicians of South Africa (FCFP). She is actively involved in training future healthcare professionals, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. She has been involved in curriculum development and review in the School of Medicine and introduced several family medicine modules into the undergraduate curriculum.

She is committed to enhancing the quality of care in Namibia, especially in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As a family physician at the Ministry of Health and Social Services, she led initiatives such as introducing family medicine rotations for medical interns and adapting WHO NCD guidelines for local use. She also contributed to the development of a nationwide diabetes management model and served as a technical advisor for NCD guidelines.

Dr. Christians’ expertise extends beyond Namibia. She has facilitated international partnerships and served as an external examiner for various medical schools. She is also the President of the Namibian Academy of Family Physicians, the President of the Consortium of New sub-Saharan African Medical Schools (CONSAMS) and is a member of the Medical and Dental Council of Namibia, serving on several subcommittees.  

Notable for her commitment to mentorship, she was honoured with the Distinguished Mentoring Award from UNAM in 2017. Dr. Christians’ work is driven by her deep passion for medical education and improving healthcare delivery and her ongoing commitment to supporting future healthcare professionals.

Dr. Christians continues to champion family medicine and primary healthcare, advancing education, policy, and practice to improve health outcomes for Namibia’s populations, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

She obtained her medical degree at University College, London in 1996 and became a fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, FRCA (UK) in 2003. She is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy FHEA (UK) and during her fellowship training in anaesthesia at University College Hospital, London she was awarded the “Top Teacher” award from medical undergraduate students at University College Medical School, 2007/2008.

She obtained her Master’s degree in Medical Education from Cardiff University in 2011 for which she received the dissertation prize and a distinction for her research study. She has been actively involved in the formulation and delivery of Training the Trainers courses in the UK, Europe and East Africa, specifically in conjunction with the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesia (WFSA). She is an external examiner for the MHPE course at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Her role and responsibilities include the oversight postgraduate specialist medical training at Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi and faculty development initiatives. Recently, she has been involved in the development and preparation phase for the launch of an undergraduate medical school at Aga Khan University, Nairobi.

Dorothy has a passion for supporting the development of emerging leaders in health. She is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Leadership Program (2018) and she subsequently supported the Adaptive Leadership for Africa in the 21st Century course in Nairobi in 2019 as a Leadership Coach. She is currently completing an executive MBA course.

He is currently a pathology, microbiology, and immunology professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and a medical education and administration professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He is an active member of multiple national and international committees and boards focused on clinical practice, global health, education, and health humanities.

• Board of Directors of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) 
• Education Committee Chair 
• Global Workforce Committee Chair 
• Global Health Humanities Working Group Chair 
• Co-Chair of the AFREhealth-CUGH Working Group (ACWG) 
• Education Committee of the FAIMER/ECFMG Board of Trustees

He also serves in leadership positions on several national and international health humanities committees and organizations. 

• AABB Global Transfusion Forum (GTF) Chairperson 
• AABB Global Standards Committee Chairperson 
• International Affairs Committee at ASFA Chairperson 
• Medical Co-Director of Transfusion Medicine at VUMC 
• Director of the VUMC Transfusion Medicine Fellowship Program 
• Director of the Vanderbilt Pathology Program in Global Health 
• Medical Director of the VA Tennessee Valley Health Care System Blood Bank 
• Co-Founder and Member of CONSAMS 

Olli Vainio is a special advisor at the University of Turku, Finland. He has a long international career working in different professional appointments as a researcher, visiting professor, and professor in Switzerland (8 years) and Finland. He has extensive administrative experience:

University of Oulu Dean for Academic Affairs (Education) at the Faculty of Medicine (2006 – 2013)

University of Oulu Director of the Degree Program on Medicine (2006 – 2017)

He has participated in several European Union projects and activities in different roles from 1998 to 2018. Vainio has published over 150 articles in international peer-reviewed journals. He has been an editor of APMIS (1997 – 2017) and an editor of the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology since 2008.

Between 2011 and 2016, he coordinated capacity-building programs in Africa funded by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. These programs included the North-South-South Program I-STEP, which focused on interprofessional education for public health (2011-2013), and MEDUNAM II, an HEI-ICI program (2013-2016). Additionally, he played a vital role as a founding member of the Consortium of New Sub-Saharan Africa Medical Schools in 2011.