Sumbal Saba

Vision statement

My vision for the term (2021-25) will involve commitment, dedication, and honesty to the OWSD mission and its programs. It will involve networking, science diplomacy, policy for gender balance, and women's education and empowerment. My vision will also involve the development of research and educational collaboration with the world, which helps in raising both the scientific and academic levels of women in society, especially in the developing world. These collaborations can be achieved through the organization of conferences, events, and competitions, inviting all renowned female researchers and successful entrepreneurs. For the OWSD Brazil National Chapter, I am continuously working to establish more networking with funding collaborators of Brazil for fundraising. As an Executive Board member, I would do the same to expand on a worldwide level, through interaction with government and non-government agencies. I strongly believe that in order to improve the situation, we should have more organizations, like OWSD, where the voices and problems of young researchers can be heard and new ideas can be generated through discussion to support research and young scholars. Lastly, becoming an Executive Board member will be an amazing chance to get inspired as well as to inspire others at the global level, and make friendly relations with motivated researchers worldwide in order to experience the wide cultural diversity.

Candidate’s bio

Dr. Sumbal Saba, is a permanent faculty (Assistant Professor) of organic chemistry at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG) - Brazil. Since 2020, she is serving as Secretary (Executive Committee) of OWSD-National Chapter Brazil. She completed her graduation (B.Sc.) in 2006 and Masters’ degree (M.Sc.), in 2008 from the University of Peshawar - Pakistan. In 2012, she was awarded with the TWAS-CNPq fellowship for her Ph.D. degree and joined Prof. Dr. Antonio Luiz Braga’s research group at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) - Brazil. She successfully defended her Ph.D. work in 2016. After finishing her Ph.D., she returned to Pakistan and joined Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) - Pakistan as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. Her dedication for the female’s higher education resulted in establishing a research lab as well as training of students. In 2019, she joined the Federal university of ABC (UFABC) - Brazil as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and in 2020, she was approved as permanent faculty at UFG.

Dr. Saba’s research expertise involves sustainable chemistry, synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. She has supervised several undergraduates and graduate students. In a short period (since 2014), she gained global attention among scientific community (with index H=20, Citations ≥ 900). She has published more than 40 articles in reputed international journals, e.g., Green Chemistry (I.F.: 9.405), Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis (I.F.: 5.851), Catalysis Science & Technology (I.F.:5.721) etc. She also deposited a number of international patents. Besides, she has delivered talks and presented her research work in several international events (Brazil, Egypt France, Italy, Pakistan, UK, USA). During her scientific career, she has been awarded with many research grants from national and international funding agencies such as CNPq (Brazil), CAPES (Brazil), TWAS (Italy), HEC (Pakistan).

As a young and motivated female scientist, with experience from two different continents, she is always vocal about females' education, their involvement in science as well as in science diplomacy. She has actively participated and contributed in several initiatives for this goal since 2012. She chairs many round table sessions about “Women in Science”. In 2020, she was involved in establishing OWSD-National Chapter and since than serving as Secretary (Executive Committee).