NCCP DRIVE Results Webinar: Insights and lessons from the development of National Cancer Control Plans in low- and middle-income countries (Speaker Bios)

Ms. Mishka Kohli Cira is a public health advisor in the Partnerships and Dissemination Branch, Center for Global Health (CGH), at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Mishka leads and coordinates convening activities in support of CGH goals to advance global cancer research and coordinate NCI’s engagement in global cancer control. Mishka leads CGH’s convening of the Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research, represents NCI in the International Cancer Control Partnership, and supports CGH’s work to convene communities of practices in cancer control with counterparts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to facilitate linkage of researchers to implementers and knowledge exchange around policy implementation. Mishka started her career working in international education at the College Consortium for International Studies, and served as a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English as a foreign language in the Slovak Republic. She has also lived and worked in Brazil, Vietnam, and Kenya. She received her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Liverpool, and her Bachelor of Art (BA) degree in Russian Studies from Colgate University.

Ms. Xolisile Dlamini is a trained biostatistician and epidemiologist from the University of Newcastle, Australia. She has served in the Ministry of Health since 1991, spending her early career in public health with a focus on preventive, curative, and promotive health services. Over time, she developed a strong interest in disease surveillance, epidemiology, research, and health promotion, particularly in non-communicable diseases. Since July 2013, Ms. Dlamini has served as the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Epidemiologist within the Epidemiology Unit, where she has played a central role in strengthening cancer control efforts in Eswatini. She spearheaded the establishment of the National Cancer Registry in 2015 and the National Cancer Control Program and Strategic Plan (2019–2023). She also led the national introduction of HPV vaccination for girls aged 9–14 and the implementation of HPV DNA testing in July 2024.

Through her leadership, Ms. Dlamini has mobilized resources to strengthen comprehensive cancer services, including the development of oncology infrastructure, workforce capacity, and specialized training programs. She is committed to collaborative efforts to reduce cancer risk factors and improve cancer prevention and care in Eswatini.

Ms. Linsey Eldridge is a Public Health Analyst at the Center for Global Health (CGH). In this role, she supports various activities in the Partnerships and Dissemination Branch, by performing data analysis and evaluation that enables informed decision making about global cancer research and control priorities. Linsey's background includes both quantitative and qualitative data analysis and evaluation methods. She also supports key dissemination activities, including the Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research (ASGCR) and the International Cancer Control Partnership (ICCP) Project ECHO for National Cancer Control Plan Implementation.

Ms. Eldridge joined the NCI as a Cancer Research Training Award Fellow in August 2019 after earning her M.P.H. with a focus in epidemiology from Tulane University. During her fellowship, she completed an analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) data describing association between structural racism and triple negative breast cancer. While completing her M.P.H., she worked as a research assistant for a CDC-funded project examining neighborhood level indicators and physical activity. Linsey also has a B.A. in Africana studies and English writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Kebba S. Bojang is a physician-scientist, poet, and essayist who currently serves as Program Manager of the National Cancer Control Program (NCCP) at the Ministry of Health in The Gambia. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the School of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences at the University of The Gambia. Dr. Bojang joined the University of The Gambia’s medical school in 1999 as part of its pioneering cohort and graduated in 2006 among the first locally trained Gambian physicians. He completed his internship at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital from 2006 to 2008, where he also contributed to public health education through a weekly radio program focused on health promotion.

He later pursued a Master’s degree in Clinical Medicine at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan under the Taiwan ICDF scholarship. His training combined advanced laboratory sciences, including research methodology, genomics, and bioinformatics, with clinical rotations in internal medicine. His thesis examined the epidemiology of infection-precipitated diabetic ketoacidosis, reflecting his interest in emergency medicine and clinical research. He graduated with honors and received the ICDF Merit Award for academic excellence.

Dr. Bojang is committed to strengthening cancer control, medical education, and research capacity in The Gambia.

Professor Cesaltina Lorenzoni is a medical pathologist with extensive experience in cancer control and health systems strengthening in Mozambique. She currently serves as Head of the National Cancer Control Programme at the Ministry of Health of Mozambique and as Scientific and Pedagogical Director at Maputo Central Hospital. She is also an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Eduardo Mondlane University.

Professor Lorenzoni holds adjunct and visiting academic appointments at several international institutions, including Rice University in the United States and the University of Barcelona in Spain. She has also served as a guest speaker at MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, contributing to global dialogue on cancer control and research collaboration.

She currently serves as President of the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) for the 2025–2027 term, following her role as President-Elect from 2023 to 2025.

Professor Lorenzoni earned her medical degree from Eduardo Mondlane University and specialized in Anatomical Pathology at Maputo Central Hospital. She holds advanced degrees in public health and health policy, including a PhD in International Health with a focus on translational cancer epidemiology from the University of Barcelona. She has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications and serves as Principal Investigator on several national and international research projects focused on strengthening cancer control systems.

Mr. Sona Franklin Mukete is a Cameroonian public health professional who obtained a Bachelor of Nursing Sciences from the University of Buea in 2003. He joined the Ministry of Health in 2007 and was posted to the Regional Hospital in Garoua, where he worked for eight years.

He later enrolled at the National Cancer Center Graduate School of Cancer Science and Policy in South Korea, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Cancer Control and Policy (Master of Public Health) in 2017. Following completion of his MPH, he was posted to the National Cancer Control Committee in Cameroon in 2019.

Mr. Mukete subsequently enrolled at the University of Eastern Finland, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Health Promotion in 2024, also a Master of Public Health.

Dr. Suraj N. Perera is a Consultant Community Physician and Head of the Strategic Information Management Unit and Planning Unit of the National Cancer Control Programme in Sri Lanka.

He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Colombo, obtaining a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in 1999. He subsequently obtained a Master’s degree in Community Medicine in 2004 and a Doctorate in Community Medicine in 2007 from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo. He also completed postdoctoral training at the Division of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Oxford from 2008 to 2009.

Dr. Perera obtained a Fellowship in Palliative Care from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Pain Policy and Palliative Care at the School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, USA, from 2012 to 2014. He further completed a six-week Master Trainer Programme to strengthen palliative care capacity and leadership, conducted by the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN) and the Lien Foundation of Singapore between 2015 and 2017.

He served as the first Head of the Palliative Care Unit of the National Cancer Control Programme from 2010 to 2019, during which he provided leadership for several national initiatives, including the development of Sri Lanka’s first National Strategic Framework on Palliative Care Development (2019–2023).