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.

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.

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

OWSD's guidance and support allowed me to uncover hidden courage and realize aspects of myself that I never thought I possessed.

I desire to see my country, Nigeria, become a leading destination for impactful clinical studies.

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

I wanted to show women that it was possible that when you do agricultural sciences, you can go on and do more for your career development.

I wanted to do applied physics, not theoretical physics… I really wanted to use all of the knowledge that I acquired at university to explain our environment.

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.

All this has broadened my knowledge for this domain of science, gave me an open mind and also allowed me to learn many things.

I have to think of something that can help us, that we can use based on resources that we have. The lack of things is the biggest inspiration in my life. I want to help my country.

I intend to disperse my achieved knowledge as one of the leading researchers in my country in the domain of microbial biotechnology, to support sustainable and prosperous agriculture.

Dr. Shammi's research will help to fill a crucial gap in the the global understanding of carbon dynamics and greenhouse gas emissions by providing data on one of the world’s largest river systems.

OWSD fellowship represents a real empowering difference in my life and career

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.

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

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