Dr. Sandra Kabagambe was born and raised in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. She moved to Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 16. After high school, she moved to Charlottesville to earn her undergraduate degree at UVA. Dr. Kabagambe spent a year in Washington, D.C., doing research at Georgetown University before moving to Kentucky to attend the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She then completed surgical residency training at the University of California, Davis, followed by pediatric surgical fellowship training at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian in New York City. She joined the UVA faculty in 2021.