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Dr. Nozipo Maraire is Africa’s first Black female neurosurgeon. She studied Biology at Harvard University, earned her Medical Degree from Columbia University, and completed her neurosurgery training at Yale University, where she was only the second woman to finish the program. She was a recipient of CNS clinical fellowship awards, in the year 1998. She has worked for more than 30 years in brain health, wellness, and women’s leadership. In Zimbabwe, she helped introduce several neurosurgery techniques, including the first two-level total disk cervical replacement, intraoperative nerve monitoring, and kyphoplasty. She has published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences around the world, and mentored many students and young doctors. She continues to host students from different countries who come to learn, shadow, or do research with her.
Outside the hospital, Dr. Maraire is an author and entrepreneur. Her novel Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter became an international bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book, touching readers globally with its message on identity and womanhood. She is the founder of Mweya Green Energy companies, focused on clean energy access in Southern Africa. She also opened Cityzen Wellness Centre, which brings rehabilitation, brain-health services, and Zimbabwe’s first Brain Gym to local communities.
Dr. Maraire is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgery, a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, and a member of the Surgical Society of Zimbabwe. She sits on the Executive Board of the Zimbabwe Association of Neurological Surgeons, where she chairs the Tariff Committee and serves as Scientific Chairperson. She has also served on various boards, including Old Mutual Life Assurance, UWC Atlantic, and the Beit Trust, and is the Chairperson of the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe. She has served on the executive board of Women in Neurosurgery.
She comes from the Maraire family of musicians and activists, home to mbira legends Dumisani and Chiwoniso Maraire. She is married to urologist Dr. Allen Chiura, and they have raised four children.