Msaada Nankumba is a Buffalonian who partially grew up in a refugee camp in Kenya after his family fled war and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo where he was born. His family was relocated to Buffalo in late 2014.

He graduated from Canisius College in May 2019 with a bachelor of science in biology/pre- medicine/all-college honors program. He earned his master of business administration (MBA) from Canisius Wehle School of Business in May 2020 and currently he is a doctor of medicine (MD) candidate at the University at Buffalo (UB) Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

He held several student leadership positions in college and business school and was elected by his medical school class as the community engagement chair. Msaada has conducted research in prostate cancer at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; as well as research on substance use disorders at UB’s Family Medicine Department. He completed the Summer Health Professions Education Program at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He also participated in the Roswell Park Junior Robotic Surgery Challenge Competition and won the Champion of Compassion award.

Msaada enjoys running, playing soccer, dancing, and reading history. He speaks five languages, interprets for refugee families in Buffalo, and was an ESL consultant for Erie 1 BOCES. He has volunteered extensively in the community including recently distributing personal protective equipment and educating refugee families in Buffalo about COVID-19 safety measures.

He plans to start a medical practice serving underrepresented minorities and refugees in a multilingual environment. He also plans to start a charity foundation to help immigrants’ and refugees’ families realize their full economic potential.