Hi, my name is Tom Bilfinger, I was born here on the East Coast, but as a young boy moved to Europe (hence the slight accent) and had the good fortune to move around quite a bit, learning several languages along the way. My higher education is a mixture between Europe and the United States. Again, by a stroke of luck I wound up at the University of Chicago which was a very international place.  My entire career was spent comparing different healthcare systems and approaches, not only in my chosen field of cardio-thoracic surgery, but also in healthcare in general. As I get older, the more I understand that the US does not have the best healthcare system, that one approach does not fit all, and that it behooves us to learn from each other if we hope to make progress. A case in point is the recent COVID pandemic where the US with a massive effort and hoarding vaccines did not do any better than Tanzania with far fewer and less effective vaccines which arrived late!

I have spent several decades here at Stony Brook and I understand that the mission of a State University is to prepare the next generation of young people for the challenges primarily of the State of New York. Along the way, I have noticed that many students are from families relatively new to the United States with dreams and ambitions reflecting their desire to fit in, succeed and participate in the American Dream. The world however is a big place, bigger than the United States, and not all problems can be solved the American way. We need "World Citizens" who can listen to each other and solve problems together. In order to do so we need to know what is out there. So, I am excited to contribute to your education as a "World Citizen" by giving you a glimpse into a different culture with different problems, different dreams and hopes, with an emphasis on healthcare, my chosen field.  

Dr. Rune Philemon is a pediatrician with an interest in child public health and infectious disease. He has been a part of the KCMUCo faculty since 2008 working in child health both in the hospital as well as the community setting. His work has been mainly on childhood disability and infectious diseases in children, particularly HIV.  He was formerly the coordinator for the East African Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Makerere University, Washington University, and Johns Hopkins University.

His Ph.D. fellowship is exploring the practices of HIV-positive women in Kilimanjaro regarding breastfeeding.