EP 57: Yanga Mdleleni- PhD Student in Virology & Founder of Nguta Foundation

12/14/20 • 54 min

Hello everyone welcome to the last episode of the year! Yes, you heard right, we are going on a production break for a few weeks so that I can get time off and come back rejuvenated for the year ahead. In this episode, my guest is Yanga Mdleleni from South Africa. se tells us the main reason she got into STEM specifically HIV research is because a close family member was diagnosed with the virus. With this emotional experience, she was determined and curious to understand more about this virus. With the unwavering support of her mother she pursued her passion and went on to pursue a degree in STEM specifically HIV research as a virology student. Yanga takes us through her academic journey especially the hard transition from high school to university. Her current research for her PhD is on immune responses to HIV and HPV, the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. Yanga tells us more about her involvement in this research and its importance. Further, we speak about the non-profit organization she founded called the Nguta Foundation aimed at assisting youth and inspired by grandmother. Lastly, we delve into how she's dealt with personal losses in her family this past year. I ask her how she thinks academia can be more sensitive to students and how a supportive environment can be created as a loss in one's life takes a major toll on the academic performance and mental health of a person.

This was a wonderful conversation, tune in!

Twitter &Instagram: Yanga_md

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This was a wonderful conversation, tune in!

Twitter &Instagram: Yanga_md

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EP 56: Doreen Anene- PhD Student in Animal Science & Founder of STEM Belle

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My guest today is Doreen Anene originally from Nigeria, currently based in the United Kingdom. In this episode, we learn that her mom was a major influence for her and her siblings to get into the field of science. Secondly, she also attributes her father who owned a pharmacy shop when she was a child and that perked her interest in pharmacy. One would think that's where her STEM path would take her but, Doreen tells us the story of how she went on to study Animal science instead. This started the trajectory of her academic career path which has now led to her to be a PhD student. She's currently enrolled at Nottingham University and her research is based on investigating the relationships and associations between Individual hen performance and egg quality. The focus is on brown shelled eggs, specifically the ISA Brown breed and it involves animal husbandry, molecular biology studies, proteomics, and microbiology. Doreen tells us more about this research and its importance. Further, we discuss the organization that she founded called The STEM Belle we learn what was the motivation for starting this cause and discuss the projects they have rolled out and how people can be involved. Tune in as we hear about this and more!

Twitter: @AneneDoreen, @TheSTEMBelle
Facebook and IG: @doreendiera
LinkedIn: Doreen Anene, RAS
Website: https://thestembelle.com/about-us/

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EP 58: Sophie Okolo- Science Writer & Founder of Global Health Aging

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Happy new year!!
I hope you are well and safe during this time and you hopefully got some time to rest. These past few weeks have been rather crazy globally, so we are hoping it not s repeat in 2021. Away from the doom and gloom, this year promises to be another exciting year featuring many AfricansInSTEM. We hope you will be with us on the incredible journey ahead. Today, my guest is Sophie Okolo, a science writer who is originally from Nigeria and currently based in the United States. In this episode, we have a quick chat about goals vs. resolutions. Sophie tells us some of her goals for the year ahead as we reflect on the lessons learned from 2020. We then discuss her journey from being research to her transitioning into an area that allowed her to impact people by choosing to do a master's in public health. The decision helped her get into the work of aging and gave birth to her own award-winning website called global health aging. Recently, Sophie became a science writer for Forbes Science, which is an amazing accomplishment. She lets us know how that happened and gives tips and tricks to anyone interested. Tune in because to hear about all this and so much more.
Twitter and Instagram: @sophieokolo; @GHealthAging
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophieaokolo/
Website: https://globalhealthaging.org/

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