I’ve been working on reptile and amphibian biodiversity for 10 years, and I know that there are still new species that need to be described.

When I got my OWSD fellowship, it was an amazing feeling. Before getting the letter, my academic career was a dream, the letter made it possible.

The main problem in radiotherapy is that most cancer cells are resistant to radiation.

After my postdoc, I will return to Syria and work to achieve my big dream, which is to establish a research center.

When I am seeing an impact, that’s what makes me as a scientist feel an achievement

When you are following your passion, people will always see what you are doing. People will see that you are doing something different, and they will help you.

In today’s scientific environment, in which most PhD scientists concentrate on a single specific discipline, I might shift toward a more systemic view to approach the challenge in infectious diseases.

“Am very proud to say that I am encouraging other Cameroonian female scientists to apply for the OWSD fellowship programme and some of them have obtained the grant."

I owe ‘what’, ‘who’ and ‘where’ I am in my career and professional practice today to OWSD because without the PHD Fellowship, all my achievements today would have been nothing but bleak.

OWSD has provided tremendous support in shaping my career as a researcher, science ambassador, role model for women scientists and a "think high" human being.

" I can boldly declare that OWSD rewarded my brilliance thus giving me recognition and confidence in my professional arena and placed me in national and international scientific communities.”

What has surprised me is the way technology is emerging and affecting the current state of research. We are encountering a fourth industrial revolution that entails advances in computing power, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, which has already been shown to alter the way we conduct research.

Winning this award opened many doors for me. It has led to success in acquiring local funding.

By creating links between food research and industry, she hopes to enhance food security both in Ghana and in Africa as a whole.

The OWSD award helped me not only to become the researcher I am today, but also to become a leader in research.

If we do research, in addition to establishing connections with other researchers, we must also communicate and do a lot of outreach in order to share our science with the community.