Who We Are
The San Francisco Based Team:
Suellen Miller, PhD, CNM
Principal Investigator of the LifeWrap Project and Director of the Safe Motherhood Program
Dr. Miller is a maternal health specialist with over 32 years of experience in reproductive health care.
She is currently the Director of Safe Motherhood Programs, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health,
and an Associate Professor, with appointments in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences,
University of California, San Francisco and the School of Public Health, Maternal and Child Health Program, University of California, Berkeley.
She is a recognized leader in international maternal health. She is co-author of the Hesperian Foundation's "A Book for Midwives,"
an obstetrical first aid training manual in use in dozens of developing countries. She teaches International Maternal Child Health to graduate MPH, PhD,
medical, midwifery, and nursing students, and conducts Safe Motherhood projects in Nigeria, India, Mexico, Tibet, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe. She has been the Principal Investigator of the intervention studies in Egypt and Nigeria as well as the Randomized Cluster
Trial currently underway in Zambia and Zimbabwe. She has published over 15 journal articles and hundreds of international presentations on the LifeWrap
and has trained over 1000 providers in the use, protocols, data collection, monitoring and evaluation necessary for LifeWrap implementation.
Read more about Dr. Miller.
Dr. Miller's resume.
Elizabeth Butrick, MSW, MPH
Project Director of the LifeWrap at the Safe Motherhood Program
Elizabeth Butrick has over 10 years experience in international health, including experience in sub-Saharan Africa.
This includes work implementing large research projects as well as work on an International Exchange of Adolescent
Reproductive Health Projects led by Mexfam of Mexico and including Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Philippines, the United States
and Mexico. Elizabeth's long residential experience overseas has given her a good understanding of the challenges of using
technology in developing countries. Her most recent work, also at UCSF, involved managing a large NIH-funded study looking at the impact
of health reforms in the Philippines on health outcomes of children and included a population based survey of 4500 households.
She joined Safe Motherhood Programs in 2006 and has trained over 250 providers in Nigeria, and 800 in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
As the Project Director, Elizabeth travels regularly to these countries and ensures the smooth running of the research.
Elizabeth’s resume.
Sheri Lippman Phd, MPH
Safe Motherhood Program’s Senior Statistician
Sheri joined the Safe Motherhood Team in 2009. She has a BA from Brown University, an MPH and a PhD in epidemiology, both from Berkeley. Her interests include the introduction of alternative diagnostic strategies for screening and treating sexually transmitted infections (STI); behavioral and community-based social intervention strategies for STI/HIV prevention; and use of causal inference techniques to improve estimation of intervention effects from observational data. Before moving to the Bay Area, Sheri coordinated operations research on STI/HIV prevention at the Population Council in Brazil, acting as both study director and co-investigator on several structural HIV prevention initiatives targeting marginalized communities. Sheri is the statistician working on Zimbabwe and Zambia RCT data and continues to work on her STI/HIV prevention research with the Center for Aids Prevention Studies.
Amy Stenson, MD
Safe Motherhood Program’s Clinical Expert & Research Fellow
Amy is a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist at the University of California, L.A. Medical Center and joined the Safe Motherhood Program in 2009 as a research fellow. She received her medical training from UCLA and her master’s degree in public health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her research interests include prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality, postpartum hemorrhage prevention, birth injury/fistula repair and understanding the mechanisms of action underlying the LifeWrap. She also greatly enjoys teaching and coordinating a clinical training program in Uganda. Her current research effort is supported by an NIH BIRCWH grant – “Building Interdiciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health.” Amy is passionate about global women’s health and has lived and worked in many different settings throughout Latin America, Africa, India, Europe and Asia.
Jennifer Clark
Safe Motherhood Program’s Project Assistant
Jen started working as Project Assistant in 2003 in the San Francisco office and is responsible for ensuring the smooth running of the Safe Motherhood Program. She does everything from ordering study supplies to compiling reports to organizing overseas trips for the Directors and international colleagues. In addition to acting as Dr. Miller's personal assistant, she deals with the mountain of logistical, programmatic and administrative tasks that occur as part of this project.
International Panel Of Experts:
LifeWrap is proud to be associated with an international panel of experts who are committed to the progress of this device.
Dr. Oladosu Ojengbede
is a Professor of Ob/Gyn and Director, Center for Population and Reproductive Health, University Teaching College, Ibadan Nigeria.
He has been the primary in-country partner in the implementation of the Nigeria pilot. He is a key participant in the National Program on Strengthening
Strategic Leadership and Management, the current initiative on building leadership and management capacity at all levels of healthcare.
He works to build reproductive health champions with credible voices to advocate for support for reproductive health. He is highly
regarded throughout the country, is a former provost of the University, and represents the finest of academic practitioners.
He has extensive experience as a teacher and a trainer and has trained doctors, nurses, and midwives throughout Nigeria.
Dr. Ojengbede’s Curriculum Vitae.
Dr. Mohamed Fathalla
is Associate Professor in Women’s Health at Assiut University Women’s Health Center, Assiut, Egypt. He has used the
LifeWrap extensively in the Egypt trial and is experienced not only in training, monitoring,
and evaluation of performance with the garment during surgery and transports, but also in the record
keeping necessary to monitor and evaluate garment utilization. He is also experienced in activities and training
related to provider behavior change strategies and institutionalization of evidence-based practices. He is the co-author,
along with his father, Professor Mahmoud Fathalla, of “A Practical Guide for Health Researchers”, published by the World Health Organization
and the recent Lancet article “Sexual and reproductive health for all: a call for action”.
Dr. Fathalla’s Curriculum Vitae.
Dr. Mohammmed Mourad
has extensive hands-on experience with the LifeWrap. As the Head of the Emergency Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
at El-Galaa Maternity Teaching Hospital in Cairo (which attends 20,000 deliveries per year), he has considerable opportunity
to use the garment in a wide range of cases and has trained many junior physicians in its use. He is a skilled physician and teacher
and has extensive hospital management experience as well. He has also worked as a consultant for John Snow International with the Healthy
Mother/Healthy Child Project and has conducted trainings for trainers all over Egypt.
Dr. Mourad’s Curriculum Vitae.
Dr. Morhason-Bello
is Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynecology, University College Hospital,
Ibadan Nigeria and member of the Nigeria LifeWrap Research Team. He has special interest in Reproductive
Health with bias for Safe Motherhood and genitourinary medicine. He has facilitated several Emergency Obstetric Care Service
Trainings on Life Saving Skills for both the Medical Officers of Health and Midwives in Nigeria organized by international organizations
such as United Nation Funds for Population (UNFPA), World Bank project and DFID. He is also a National Trainer on Strategic Leadership and
Management for Population and Reproductive Health in Nigeria and current General Secretary of the Nigerian Medical Association, Oyo state Branch.
Dr. Morhason-Bello’s short biography.
Dr. Galadanci
is Senior Lecturer and Consultant, Ob/Gyn at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital(AKTH), Kano, Nigeria.
She has published over 30 articles and attended several courses and conferences. She is the first female indigenous Gynecologist in Kano State.
She is an external examiner to five Teaching Hospitals and examiner to West African College of Surgeons. She is the first President of the Medical
Women’s Association of Nigeria, Kano state branch. She is a member of the PMTCT National Task Team, Vice President of the National Reproductive
Health Working Group and Member of the West African Steering Committee on Reduction of Maternal Mortality.
Dr. Galadanci’s biography.
Dr. Christine Kaseba
is a specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia, Head of Department /Obstetrics and
Gynaecology, University of Zambia, Honorary Lecturer at the University of Zambia, and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at UTH.
Dr. Kaseba has served on numerous hospital committees, academic and clinical. Her particular interest in public health has led her to working
with the government of Zambia. She has served as a consultant trainer in family planning for both Ministry of Health and other private organizations
and has accrued specific knowledge and experience in technical areas of sexual and reproductive Health, STIs including HIV/AIDS, malaria in pregnancy,
gender mainstreaming especially at gender based violence. She has been delegate and representative of multiple technical teams, women’s assemblies and
public health committees.
She is a Member of the WHO African Regional Task force and Founding member Regional Reproductive Health Centre Project.
Dr. Kaseba's Curriculum Vitae.
Dr. Gricelia Mkumba
is a consultant in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Of Zambia, Lusaka as well as Honorary
Lecturer at the University of Zambia and focal person for the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula initiative.
She is a member of numerous committees and groups such as the Zambia Medical Association, Medical Women’s Association,
Prevention of Maternal Mortality Network, and the Association of Obstetrician & Gynaecological Societies.
She is a team leader on the task force for cervical screening program, team leader and trainer of PMTCT trainers (Prevention of mother to child transmission
of HIV/AIDS). In addition, Dr. Mkumba is currently involved in research into the LifeWrap, as well as a needs assessment of EMOC (Emergency Obstetric Care),
and a cancer prevention study funded by WHO.
Dr. Mkumba's short biography.
Dr. Thulani Magwali
is a Lecturer at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Zimbabwe.
He was previously Senior Registrar in the same department at Harare Maternity Hospital,
has a Research Fellowship in Contraceptive Technology and has published several peer reviewed articles.
He is currently engaged in research involving the LifeWrap as well as HIV prevention. Dr. Magwali has been
a consultant with Advance Africa and FHI in Family Planning in the era of HIV as well as with UNICEF and the Ministry of Health in
Assessing Emergency Obstetric Care Services in Zimbabwe. His interests include reproductive health, epidemiology, gynaecologic endocrinology,
and contraceptive technology research.
Dr. Magwali's Curriculum Vitae.
International Staff:
Rhoda Amafumba
Project Coordinator, Zambia
Rhoda has been a registered nurse midwife since 1980. She is based at University Teaching Hospital(UTH) in Lusaka where she has worked for 14 years and has held the position of Sister-in-Charge in the Labor Ward since 1998. Rhoda has also been involved in PMTCT counseling, training and research. In addition to directing all activities aimed at the provision of efficient nursing care services at UTH, she is involved in inter-Labor ward meetings with other midwives in the district and working with health centers to share knowledge on how to improve safe motherhood. She delivers a Life Saving Skills for Midwives Program, has been involved with the Maternal and Neonatal Health Project with JHPIENGO reviewing midwifery curricula and is a member of Prevention of Maternal Mortality Network in Zambia - a network advocating for emergency obstetrical care in all district hospitals.
Jessica DeMulder, MPH
Lusaka Program Manager, Zambia
Jessica DeMulder, MA, MPH is a graduate of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and also holds an MA in Human Rights from Columbia University. She is our new Lusaka Program manager, having started in July 2011. Jessica oversees all of our Lusaka sites and supervising data management for all of Zambia. Jessica spent the year before joining our team living and working in Zimbabwe with UNICEF and the Child Protection in Crisis Learning Network. We are really lucky to have Jessica re-joining us, as she worked with us in 2009 as a summer intern in Zimbabwe, and conducted data audits at the Zimbabwe site of the NASG trial as a consultant in 2010. We are excited to have her working with us again and glad she gets to work on Phase 3 of our project.
Kathleen McDonald, MPH
Copperbelt Program Manager, Zambia
Kathleen McDonald joined our team in September 2010 as an intern and has served as the Program Manager for the Copperbelt since January 2011. Kathleen manages project operations and logistics in the Copperbelt, in addition to ensuring data quality and coordinating with hospital, district and provincial officials to promote support for project activities. Prior to this, Kathleen mentored young refugee women in Seattle through the International Rescue Committee.
Kathleen has a strong background in training and operations in the private sector and has held various global health positions, including survey design and administration in rural Kenya and monitoring and evaluating supply chain management of PMTCT drugs and testing kits in southern Zambia. Kathleen holds a MPH from Boston University and a Graduate Certificate in International Development from Johns Hopkins University SAIS. A strong advocate for health systems strengthening, Kathleen sees the LifeWrap as an invaluable tool for resource-poor health care facilities. She is proud to work with midwives, nurses and doctors who strive to save women’s lives every day.
Violet Mambo
Harare Project Coordinator
Violet holds a Nursing Diploma in Higher Education, BSC Honors in Midwifery, a Masters Degree in Midwifery, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Health Promotion and Public Health. She is interested in public health, childbearing, child protection and social justice. Violet is now Project Coordinator in Zimbabwe, before this she was a Senior Nurse Midwife.