Bringing Worldwide Attention to Tuberculosis
Dr. Bamrah Morris with her husband, Daniel, and their children, Arya and Ryker.
“I am, at heart, a tuberculosis (TB) doctor,” says Capt. Sapna Bamrah Morris, MD ’99, MBA. “Unfortunately, Namibia is in the top 30 for burden of tuberculosis in the world. We haven’t made the same strides in TB as we have in HIV. I really enjoy that I get to bring attention to TB.”
Dr. Bamrah (her preferred moniker) serves as an associate director of clinical programs with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Namibia office, leading a team engaged as technical advisors to the Ministry of Health and Social Services of Namibia in all aspects of HIV and TB disease management. The hope is for this work, supported by funds through the President’s Emergency Program For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), to be completely supported by the Ministry of Health and Social Services in a sustainable manner. Dr. Bamrah joined the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) in 2006 and is deployed through 2026.
During her education and work with the CDC, Dr. Bamrah has gained incredible insight into global health and disease outbreaks among displaced populations. She has expertise in not only TB but also HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, refugee health and mPOX, and has published numerous research articles about this work. She previously worked with the Division of Tuberculosis Elimination and served as the clinical team lead for multiple CDC-wide public health responses to help bring under control global outbreaks.
“Other than smallpox eradication, the PEPFAR program has probably been the most successful public health program in the world. There are 25 million people living with HIV currently on treatment, most of whom are virally suppressed and will live normal lives,” Dr. Bamrah says.
Dr. Bamrah’s work in global health is driven by a passion for social justice that she pursued before her years as an MCW student. It started at home in Milwaukee, where her biggest influences had dedicated their lives to medicine. Her father, Virinderjit Bamrah, MD, is a cardiologist, and her mother, Paramjit Bamrah, MD, practiced family medicine. Both were passionate caregivers and shared their expertise with MCW in faculty and advisory roles.
Her brother, Bindu Bamrah, MD ’96, an orthopedic surgeon practicing in southeast Wisconsin, attended MCW – and she would follow his lead. She was one of 15 students chosen for an early admissions to Marquette University and MCW while in high school.
Dr. Bamrah Morris and her brother, Dr. Bindu Bamrah, on the occasion of his wedding in Tuscany in June 2024.
While Dr. Bamrah completed her undergraduate studies in social work, she had the opportunity to study in Namibia. “My time there really changed me. Because of my experience in Namibia, a lot of the work I did at MCW really helped to solidify that I wanted my medical career to focus on populations living in poverty,” Dr. Bamrah says.
Dr. Bamrah curated her MCW experience by seeking out volunteer and credit-earning experiences that included volunteer work in Milwaukee at the Isaac Coggs Heritage Health Center and other clinics and shelters. Earnestine Willis, MD, MPH, and James Sebastian, MD – among others at MCW – helped Dr. Bamrah envision her career in medicine through a social justice lens.
She recalls a small group of medical school classmates planning a senior retreat with the intention to enjoy a nice weekend in the outdoors, but also to take the time to absorb the responsibility they were about to take on in residency. “It was time to consider the weight of being an intern and actually being responsible for people’s lives, and what that means. There was a group of us that really felt the responsibility spelled out in the Hippocratic Oath, and the retreat was a really special way to culminate our time in med school.”
After her deployment ends in 2026, Dr. Bamrah may consider returning to the US with her husband, Daniel Morris, and three children, Damon, 19; Arya, 11; and Ryker, 10.
– Joy Wick
Recommended
