Ponsiano Ocama is a Professor of Medicine and an academic hepatologist at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, in Kampala, Uganda. His major research interests are the interactions between viral hepatitis and HIV on liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma in resource-limited settings. He holds a PhD from the University of Antwerp, Belgium under Prof Bob Colebunders following a fellowship in liver diseases at the University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Centre at Dallas in 2002 with Professor William M. Lee. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, hepatitis B infection is endemic and generalized HIV epidemics exist. Understanding the consequences of co-infection including hepatocellular carcinoma is crucial to inform approaches for targeting screening or secondary prevention with antiviral therapy. In his position he supervises the clinical services for GI/hepatology at Kiruddu National Referral hospital in Kampala, Uganda and he is immediate Past Chair of the Department of internal Medicine. He has published more than 60 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals with several collaborations among others with Johns Hopkins University, University of Antwerp, Zurich University, University of Glasgow some of the collaborations related to viral hepatitis in refugee population in Uganda. He has participated in writing the Hepatitis B guideline and revision of hepatitis C guideline for WHO. He also leads the technical working group for viral hepatitis in the Ministry of Health of Uganda. He teaches and supervises both undergraduate and Postgraduate students in the University and involved in external examinations at various Universities across Africa.
