The OWSD newsletter brings you the latest news and announcements from the Secretariat and from our international network. In this edition, we introduce the first 10 OWSD WISDOM Scholars and our newest national chapter, see how OWSD national chapters in Latin America are coming together for regional cooperation, meet an OWSD Awardee helping to expand clean water access in Rwanda, and more.

Introducing the first OWSD WISDOM Scholars

LuisSobrevia @LuisSobrevia2 · Aug 6

Thanks Honduras Chapter @HondurasOwsd from @OwsdSecretariat for the invitation to talk Science Diplomacy in Tegucigalpa 🇭🇳 at @UNITEC_hn It was stimulating to see lots of energy & around All my support as cochair of @ISC_LAC @ISC & @TheIUPS Americas representative

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In this corner we highlight some of the most exciting recent achievements of our fellows, alumnae, and awardees. Way to go, ladies!

• Sunanda Baidya, a 2023 Early Career Fellow from Bangladesh, has won two grants, for a joint research program of the Institute for Genetic Medicine at Hokkaido University, and for advanced research in education, from the Bangladesh Ministry of Education. She was also invited on national talk show Maasranga Ranga Shokal to talk about her research and future work in the field of tumor immunology in Bangladesh.


• Olubukola Oluranti Babalola, OWSD Vice President for Africa, is a South African Women in Science Awards (SAWiSA) 2024 finalist. She received the Distinguished Women Researcher first-runner-up award, a handshake from the Minister of Science and Innovation, and a cash prize for contributing to the scientific and research knowledge base.


• Bertille Edith Bella Nke, a 2014 PhD Fellow from Cameroon, published two papers: 'Fabric development and emplacement mechanism of the Cenozoic Fossong‑Wentcheng trachytic dome (Mount Bambouto, West Cameroon): an integrated AMS investigation', in Arabian Journal of Geosciences, and 'Provenance of aeolian sands from the southeastern Sahara from a detrital zircon perspective', in Quaternary Science Reviews.


• Zviemurwi J. Chihambakwe, a 2015 PhD Fellow from Zimbabwe, was awarded the 2024 UNESCO-TWAS Project Grants for Gender Equity and Climate Action.


• Sahar Elbager, a 2016 PhD Fellow from Sudan, has been appointed as the Director of Research and Innovation at the University of Medical Sciences and Technology, which was relocated from Sudan to Kigali, Rwanda in 2023 in response to the security crisis in Sudan.


• Jackie Epila a 2023 Early Career Fellow from Uganda, was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Chemistry in the Faculty of Education at Lira University.


• Asmaul Husna, a 2017 PhD Fellow from Bangladesh, has published two papers on Fusarium andiyazi, a pathogenic species associated with rice bakanae disease, in Current Microbiology and Australasian Plant Disease Notes. She presented her research on this subject at the International Conference on Advanced Agricultural Research (ICAAR) 2024 in Bangladesh in May 2024.


• Faten Kamal Eddin, a 2017 PhD Fellow from Syria, was invited to attend the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Physics in June-July 2024, where she had the opportunity to network with Nobel Laureates and other young scientists (including 2023 Laureate in physics Anne L'Huillier, at left with Faten). Additionally, she was selected as one of the 10 young scientists to participate in an exclusive luncheon hosted by WORLD.MINDS and the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in Zurich, Switzerland, on 29 June. This event, attended by distinguished figures from global companies, investors, and Nobel Laureates, focused on the latest advancements in quantum technology.


• Vuyiswa Jane Mkhabela, a 2023 Early Career Fellow from eSwatini, was elected to present her research titled ‘Preparation and Antimicrobial Activity of Aloe/Chitosan Composite for Application in Chronic Wounds Healing’ at the Pan Africa Chemistry Network Congress 2024, this October in Nairobi, Kenya. She received a bursary to attend the Congress funded by the UK Royal Society of Chemistry.


• Marthe Montcho, a 2015 PhD fellow and 2023 Early Career Fellow from Benin, has been promoted to Senior Lecturer-Researcher with a permanent position at the National University of Agriculture, Benin.


• Phyllis Muturi, a 2018 Early Career Fellow from Kenya, has published a paper, 'A Modified Climate-Smart Push-Pull Technology for the Management of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in the Semiarid Lands of Kenya' in International Journal of Agronomy.


• Alice Nabatanzi, a 2022 Early Career Fellow from Uganda, won two commercialization grants from the government of Uganda for products she has developed with phytoadditives, used in chicken feed and in nutraceutical products for mitigating malnutrition among pregnant women and children.


• Naumih Noah, a 2020 Early Career Fellow from Kenya, was recognized as an outstanding Women Researcher in the Physical Sciences, Technology, and Innovation during the Kenya National Research Festival 2024, organized by Kenya's National Research Fund.


• Joy Odimegwu, a 2009 PhD Fellow from Nigeria, concluded a six-month research fellowship with the Spanish Mujeres por Africa Foundation. Her research project aimed to formulate extracts from cytotoxic herbal medicines from Africa into nanomedicines for breast cancers, especially late stages. She was privileged to meet Queen Letizia of Spain and give her a copy of her book, Foods and Hormones: Phytoestrogens in Edible Plants and Human Reproductive Health.


• Uduak Okomo, a 2019 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awardee from Nigeria working in the Gambia, led a Maternal and Newborn Health Research Prioritization Workshop. The workshop report was provided to the Gambia’s Ministry of Health, and will guide future research efforts toward the most impactful areas to enhance the health and well-being of mothers and newborns.


• Mavis Owureku-Asare, a 2019 Early Career Fellow from Ghana, has been named as one of Ghana's Women of the Year 2024 by Glitz Africa, for her excellence in technology.


• Jeanne Agrippine Yetchom Fondjo, a 2016 PhD Fellow from Cameroon, was interviewed as part of her Georg Forster fellowship awarded by the Humboldt Foundation, about her taxonomic research on grasshoppers and biodiversity.