Meet Prof. Dr Steven Kaddu – Diaspora Award Recipient 2016 | Deputy Head of the Dermatopathology – Department of Dermatology, Medical University and State Hospital of Graz, Austria
Prof. Dr Steven Kaddu is currently Professor of Dermatology and deputy head of the Dermatopathology section at Department of Dermatology, Medical University and State Hospital of Graz, Austria. Prof. Dr. Kaddu was born in Uganda and graduated in Medicine at Makerere University, Kampala in 1982. Following graduation, he worked in various hospitals in Uganda and Kenya, before leaving for Austria in 1989 to specialize in Dermatology.
Prof. Dr. Kaddu is an internationally well-known and well-recognized expert in the fields of Dermatology and Dermatopathology, where he has widely published over 60 scientific papers in peer reviewed journals and contributed as author and/or co-author to a number of dermatology books, including standard textbooks. He is a former recipient of several scientific awards and grants including a Fullbright grant to Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA in 2000 for a fellowship in soft tissue tumors of the skin. Prof. Dr. Kaddu is the first black African to be awarded the distinguished title of “University Professor” at the southern Austrian Medical University of Graz.
Prof. Kaddu’s life and professional journey and experience may partly mirror those of a number of his doctor colleagues who left Uganda in the ‘80s to work abroad elsewhere, however, his challenges have been unique and his accomplishments rather extraordinary.
In 2007, Prof. Dr. Steven Kaddu together with partners from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, especially Dr. Carrie Kovarik founded the Africa Teledermatology Project and Website. The network was aimed at creating a broad dermatologic teleconsultation platform linking medical centers in sub-Saharan Africa involved in treatment of skin diseases, to specialized dermatology units in Africa, Europe, and USA. Until 2015, over 1300 problematic cases had been processed on the project website. The initiation of the site was funded in part by the Commission for Development Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Dermatology.
While in Austria, Prof. Kaddu actively participates in a number of initiatives aimed at improving skin health care in African immigrants, including having started a specialized clinic for treatment of problematic skin conditions in dark skin individuals and people with skin of color at the State Hospital in Graz. As a role model, he has been the focus of a documentary film project (“who dares, wins”) aimed at promoting integration of African immigrants in Austria.
Prof. Kaddu is married with 2 children. His a keen painter in his leisure time with a number of solo art exhibitions in Austria. Prof. and Mrs. Kaddu are also actively involved in a range of charitable projects, including contributions to supporting a large orphanage in Kampala.
Prof. Dr. Stephen Kaddu will be among the Recipients of this year’s Ugandan Diaspora Awards #2016 Edition!
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