Meet the 2026 Montegut Scholars

Bernice Enyonam Akpaloo (Africa)

Bernice Enyonam Akpaloo is a family medicine trainee in Ghana, with a strong interest in public health and health systems that deliver equitable, patient-centred care. She learned about the Montegut Scholarship through the AfriWon platform and applied to deepen her engagement with family physicians across the region.

Alongside her clinical training, she has focused on community-oriented primary care, youth leadership, and improving access and continuity of care in resource-constrained settings. She has taken on early leadership responsibilities, including work with the Junior Doctors Association in the Ashanti Region, supporting public health engagement, awareness campaigns, health screening initiatives and capacity building in partnership with local stakeholders.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Bernice plans to attend the 9th WONCA Africa Region Conference to learn from shared African experience, exchange practical ideas, and return better equipped to contribute to family medicine development and mentorship in Ghana.

Dr Nancy Matillya (Africa)

Dr Nancy Matillya is a family physician and assistant professor based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She works with Aga Khan Health Services Tanzania and the Aga Khan University, where she leads the Department of Family Medicine and directs the national family medicine residency programme.

She has focused her career on strengthening family medicine in Tanzania and supporting the next generation of primary care specialists. In 2025, she was elected founding president of the Family Medicine Association of Tanzania, and she describes advocacy, professional recognition and mentorship as central to her work.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Dr Matillya plans to attend the 9th WONCA Africa Region Conference. She hopes to learn from leaders and peers from across Africa and beyond, and to bring practical strategies back to Tanzania to support advocacy with policymakers, partners and family physicians, as well as to encourage colleagues in the national association to build the specialty together.

Dr Juan Carlos Perozo García (Iberoamericana-CIMF)

Dr Juan Carlos Perozo García is a family physician, epidemiologist and educator from Falcón State, Venezuela. He is a full professor at the Universidad Nacional Experimental Francisco de Miranda (UNEFM), serves as Secretary of Interinstitutional Relations of the Venezuelan Society of Family Medicine (SOVEMEFA), and is active in the CIMF Rural Health Working Group.

In a recent WONCA Featured Doctor interview, he describes family medicine as the discipline that brings science, humanity and social context together, and argues that even in difficult conditions, primary care can help rebuild trust and strengthen community health. His work spans teaching, research leadership and rural health, alongside community initiatives that respond to local need. Read the full interview.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Dr Perozo García plans to attend the IX Iberoamerican Congress of Family Medicine / Family and Community Medicine in Asunción, Paraguay (22-25 July 2026). He hopes the conference will help deepen collaboration across Iberoamerica and beyond, strengthening professional networks and practical strategies he can bring back to support family medicine development in Venezuela.

Dr Fatemeh Najafipour (Eastern Mediterranean)

Dr Fatemeh Najafipour is a family doctor from Iran with more than two decades of experience across rural and urban primary care. She was profiled by WONCA last year after receiving the 2025 WONCA Five Star Doctor Award for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, recognising her long-term commitment to comprehensive care, education and leadership in primary health care.

Her work has included service in underserved areas, with a particular focus on chronic disease care, older people’s health, and infectious disease prevention. She has also been recognised for rebuilding and strengthening services through team-based care, including the re-establishment of a diabetes clinic using a multidisciplinary approach, and she has supported training for medical interns and residents, alongside leadership roles within the Iranian Family Medicine Specialists Association.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Dr Najafipour hopes to attend the WONCA East Mediterranean Region Conference 2026 in Cairo (29-31 October 2026) to learn from regional and global peers and bring practical ideas back to primary care in Iran. 

Eifraimdio Paisthalozie (Asia Pacific)

Eifraimdio Paisthalozie is a first-year family medicine and primary care resident in Indonesia at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Before entering residency, he spent several years working as a medical doctor in underprivileged and remote communities, including West Sumba and the Kai Islands, where he saw how geography, workforce shortages and fragmented systems affect access to care.

These experiences shaped his decision to pursue family medicine. He is particularly interested in rural primary care, maternal and child health, chronic disease management, and improving continuity of care. He also hopes to strengthen preventive services and develop practical models that respond to the realities of rural and remote communities, where family doctors remain scarce.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Eifraimdio plans to attend the 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference 2026 in Wellington, New Zealand (10–13 April 2026) . He hopes to learn from global experience in rural primary care, connect with colleagues who share similar commitments, and bring back ideas that can be adapted to improve community-based services and encourage more physicians to serve in rural Indonesia.

Dr Seyma Handan Akyon (Europe)

Dr Seyma Handan Akyon is a family medicine specialist and researcher from Türkiye, with a focus on geriatric care, home health services, artificial intelligence and digital health in primary care. She currently leads a large home care unit in Ankara, coordinating a multidisciplinary team providing services to more than 5,000 home-bound patients. She completed the EGPRN Fellowship Programme and the WONCA Working Party on Research Mentorship Program in 2024–2025.

She is co-lead of the EYFDM Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group, supporting young family doctors across Europe to explore the safe and practical use of emerging technologies. She has developed digital applications, published in international journals, and presented her work at WONCA, EGPRN, EUROPREV and EYFDM meetings. She was also invited as a keynote speaker at the WONCA World Conference 2025 in Lisbon.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Dr Akyon plans to attend the 30th WONCA Europe Conference 2026 in Paris (30 June - 3 July 2026) . She hopes to strengthen research partnerships, advance collaborative digital health projects, and continue developing leadership skills within the WONCA network, particularly in artificial intelligence and innovation in family medicine.

Dr Zahra Mendoza (North America)

Dr Zahra Mendoza is a family physician in Trinidad and Tobago, working in the public primary care system with a strong focus on prevention and long-term chronic disease management. She completed her Doctor of Medicine in Family Medicine at the University of the West Indies in 2024 and has taken on leadership roles within district primary care services.

She leads a smoking cessation clinic and chairs patient support groups, including establishing a digital peer-support network to strengthen continuity of care. She has contributed to national tobacco control initiatives in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and PAHO, and serves as an executive member and Secretary/ Public Relations Officer of the Caribbean College of Family Physicians Trinidad Chapter. Her work reflects a growing commitment to the connections between lifestyle, environment and health in resource-constrained communities.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Dr Mendoza plans to attend the WONCA Africa Region Conference 2026 in Gaborone, Botswana . She hopes to exchange climate-responsive primary care strategies, strengthen international collaboration, and bring practical approaches back to promote prevention, patient empowerment and resilient primary care systems in the Caribbean.

Dr Bikash Gauchan (South Asia)

Dr Bikash Gauchan is a family physician from Nepal and Professor in the Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine at Rapti Academy of Health Sciences. He previously served as Executive Director of the Infectious and Communicable Disease Hospital in Gandaki Province, where he led provincial-level responses in a resource-limited setting.

He has pursued advanced training in global health and health systems leadership, including fellowships with the HEAL Initiative at the University of California San Francisco and postgraduate studies in public health from the University of Liverpool, UK and grant writing through international programmes. A long-standing contributor to WONCA activities in South Asia, he has received the WONCA Rural South Asia Leadership Award and the Taiwan Family Medicine Research Award at the WONCA World Conference. His work focuses on strengthening rural primary care systems and translating innovation into measurable improvements for underserved communities.

With support from the Montegut Scholarship, Dr Gauchan plans to attend the 30th WONCA Europe Conference 2026 in Paris (30 June - 3 July 2026) . He hopes to exchange practical models of equitable primary care, deepen collaboration between South Asia and Europe within WONCA, and bring structured learning back to inform teaching, mentorship and policy engagement in Nepal.

WONCA congratulates all seven scholars and thanks the American Board of Family Medicine Foundation for making this opportunity possible. The Montegut Scholars of 2026 represent the best of our global community, working to advance family medicine and strengthen primary care for all.