Bernice Adekeye

Bernice Adekeye (33), Nigerian, is pursuing a doctorate in Bilingual Education at Gallaudet University. Her career goal is to contribute to improving Deaf education in Nigeria through research, advocacy, and innovation. Bernice says she is conscious of her two identities: “I am a woman, I am Deaf, and there are others like me.” This drives her to be a role model for others. 

She is committed to serving women, especially Deaf girls and young women, by advocating for their inclusion, education, and empowerment. She gives public speaking training to Deaf female students in Nigeria to help build their confidence, self esteem, and assertiveness skills. 

Bernice established NGO Luminous Deaf Scholastic Initiative, which organizes national quizzes and literary competitions for secondary and tertiary Deaf and hard of hearing students in Nigeria. She also volunteers with the Nigerian Deaf Women Association. In October 2020, she participated in the sexual and reproductive health and rights innovation lab organized by the Disability Resource Advocacy Centre; as an Innovation team member, she designed innovative ideas to alleviate challenges experienced by women with disabilities in Nigeria and researched maternity healthcare for Nigerian Deaf women to improve access to services and the quality of those services. 

Makafui Borbi

Makafui Borbi (33), Ghanaian, is studying for her doctorate in Food Science and completing the Didactic Program in Dietetics at Michigan State University. She plans to develop an effective food program that hampers intergenerational consequences of poor nutrition quality, and create more opportunities for women in STEM in developing countries. 

Makafui’s passion, current research, and previous employment as Principal Food Technologist with Ghana’s Food Research Institute all focus on the interrelationships among plant compounds, nutrition, and human health, especially of vulnerable populations like women of reproductive age and children. In her doctoral research, she is investigating how to enhance the quality of Indigenous foods through process optimization and product development and how the outcome affects food security and human nutrition. 

Makafui is co-founder of pioneering organization Dynamic Research Access Media (DRe-AM), aimed at translating and disseminating key scientific health-related findings to local communities in their local languages. She is also an active member of the mid-Michigan chapter of Graduate Women in Science, addressing challenges faced by women in science and encouraging and supporting girls and young women in STEM. 

After graduation, she plans to teach in a higher education institution or work in a research institution in Ghana in food science and human nutrition, and to use the outcome of her research, collaboration, and networking both to develop an effective food program to improve nutrition quality and create more opportunities for women in STEM in developing countries. 

Purity Chepkoech

Purity Chepkoech (28), Kenyan, is completing a Master’s of Science in Global Health at Duke University. Her thesis project is focused on strengthening community workers’ knowledge of cervical cancer with the goal of improving prevention outcomes in Kenya. In her fieldwork, Purity will develop a curriculum to support community health workers’ training in cervical cancer prevention services, reduce stigma, and improve the uptake of cervical cancer screening and treatment services

Purity has trained and worked as a physician in Kenya, where she has witnessed firsthand the grim realities of women diagnosed with cervical cancer and other gynecologic cancers. She started a breast and cervical cancer awareness program for small groups of 10 to 20 women in her local community. She also volunteered as a research assistant to manage data at the Ampath Chandaria Cancer Centre.

Because of the pivotal role that women play in Kenyan society, a cancer diagnosis negatively impacts families, especially children. Women go through unbearable pain, lose their employment, and are unable to take care of their families.  Purity aims to use her medical training, clinical experience, research skills, and knowledge of public health to design effective community-based programs to reduce the burden of female reproductive cancers through prevention and early treatment.

Nancy Ingabire Abayo

Nancy Ingabire Abayo, from Rwanda, is a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Graduate Certificates in Engineering Education and Geographic Information Systems and Technology (GIST) at North Carolina State University. Her research aims to improve predictions of ground cracks resulting from the liquid behavior of granular soils such as sand after an earthquake. Currently, there is high variability in the predictive models, which can threaten the stability of roadways, buildings, and other civil infrastructure.

Nancy’s passion for women's and children’s education led her to co-found Sci-Touche, one of her greatest accomplishments. Sci-Touche seeks to provide access to practical STEM education to girls in Rwanda and hopes to expand in East Africa. Nancy has spoken at the “Women in Science” segment of Waramutse Rwanda, a national television program, raising awareness about breaking barriers among women in education and the science fields and the importance of practical STEM education. 

Nancy has served as a mentor to international and multicultural female students in different capacities at Bucknell University and through Sci-Touche and participated in international reconnaissance efforts following the Nippes 2021 Earthquake in Haiti. 

After graduation, Nancy will continue to invest in children’s education through Sci-Touche. Her plan is to become a professor. She hopes to contribute to higher education in STEM fields in East Africa and partner with local agencies to provide Rwandan students with the opportunity to conduct research in the fields of geology, civil engineering, earthquake engineering, and other STEM disciplines.

Lokina Kishoiyian

Margaret Lokina Kishoiyian (29) was brought up among the Maasai in Narok County, Kenya. She holds an MLS in Indigenous Peoples’ Law and Policies and is studying for a Doctor of Juridical Science degree at the University of Arizona. Her doctoral research involves a case study of women’s land rights within five Indigenous communities in Kenya. Lokina is an activist for women’s rights, which provides the framework for her career and other endeavors.  

While pursuing her degree, Lokina works in Tucson, Arizona, as a legal assistant at an NGO that provides humanitarian aid globally. One of the areas in which she works is gender-based asylum claims. Lokina also volunteers at several organizations that work to better the welfare of women. She volunteers at a local community food bank and works at an NGO she formed to support the needs of local Indigenous people. When she is in Kenya, she actively engages in civic education of girls to ensure that they are informed of their rights.  

Lokina plans to continue to hone her legal skills at an international organization after graduation.  Her longer-term plans include returning to East Africa and working to ensure that the land rights of women are respected and that the relevant legal frameworks support this objective.  

Mozhgan Kohzadi

Mozhgan Kohzadi (36), from Iran, is a doctoral candidate in Human Nutrition, Maternal and Fetal Health at McGill University. Her research focuses on prenatal nutrition and its impact on fetal health and growth. Her proposal was ranked 4th out of 12 in a prestigious provincial competition. 

Prior to her PhD, Mozhgan worked in Iran for six years at obstetrics and gynecological hospitals and research centers, gaining deep expertise in midwifery and embryology. Her commitment to women and children is demonstrated by her clinical background as a midwife along with her research in women’s health sciences and passion for working in reproductive health in developing countries. 

During her graduate education, Mozhgan has mentored medicine, pharmacology, and dentistry students and taught anatomy, histology, and embryology courses. She is an exam coordinator at the Office for Students with Disabilities, and a member of the Rising Leaders Circle team at McGill University. 

After graduation, Mozhgan plans to continue her research with the aim of informing policies related to prenatal supplementation to optimize fetal growth.

Iyanuoluwa Odole

Iyanuoluwa Odole (26), Nigerian, is pursuing a Master’s degree in Public Health at Yale University, specializing in Chronic Disease Epidemiology and Global Health. Iyanuoluwa’s objective is to reduce health disparities in cancer prevention and control.

Iyanuoluwa's commitment to improving women's health has been reflected in her community and research work. She was elected Health Minister of her residence hall, where she was tasked with the responsibility of managing primary healthcare for 900 female residents. One of her greatest accomplishments was collaborating and partnering with the Multidisciplinary Tumor Board for breast examination and screening for the female residents. 

Working as a data specialist at 54gene on a nationwide research study gave Iyanuoluwa the opportunity to contribute to the inclusion of African genomic data in global research. She also worked with a team to provide menstrual products to over 200 girls in a rural community and female prisoners with limited access to hygienic products and menstrual health education, as well as raise awareness about female genital mutilation (FGM) and early childhood marriage. In recognition of her outstanding community service and leadership qualities while also maintaining academic excellence, she was awarded the Provost Award by her medical college. 

Iyanuoluwa’s career plan is to lead and conduct innovative cancer research for cancer prevention and control. Her goal is to ultimately improve health outcomes and effect change in the Nigerian healthcare system, in Africa, and globally.

Catalina Rey-Guerra

Catalina Rey-Guerra (34), Colombian, is a doctoral candidate in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College. Her previous education includes a Master’s in Economics and Public Policy at Universidad de Los Andes (2016) and a Bachelor’s in Economics and International Business Administration from Universidad del Rosario (2013).

Catalina's deep commitment to women and children has led her to work on many projects with the Colombian Ministry of Education, influencing national education policy, and leading research projects to improve children's academic outcomes and family well-being. Through her Ph.D., she focuses on addressing socioeconomic and gender disparities in early learning opportunities while ensuring family well-being. Her long-term goals involve closely working with Colombian government organizations to promote class, race, and gender equality in education.

Catalina's career plan involves working towards the prevention and reduction of gender disparities in learning opportunities and child development, particularly in Colombia and other countries in the region. She aims to develop community-based materials, such as toolkits, in collaboration with local stakeholders and organizations. Her dissertation will serve as a stepping stone toward becoming an advocate for gender equality and children's rights.

Anam Shahil Feroz

Anam Shahil Feroz (32) is a trained nurse from Pakistan. She is completing her doctorate in Health Systems Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on supporting pregnant women in Pakistan at high risk of preeclampsia and who have limited access to healthcare services due to sociocultural and financial constraints. Preeclampsia is the second leading cause of maternal deaths in Pakistan. The overarching goal of her research is to use innovative digital health technology to improve preeclampsia-related maternal health outcomes in Pakistan, where maternal mortality is declining very slowly.

Anam is addressing this crucial issue by designing a user-centric mobile-based telemonitoring program that allows high-risk pregnant women to monitor themselves at home for blood pressure and symptoms, for real-time monitoring by healthcare providers. Through her research, she hopes to strengthen the self-care agency of high-risk pregnant women, which is often compromised by several sociocultural and demographic factors.  In addition to publishing her doctoral research work, Anam hopes to disseminate her findings beyond the lab, scientific journals, and conferences through story-telling to overcome the obstacle of reaching lay audiences. She has over 61 publications alongside many awards to her credit. 

Anam explains, “MMEG brings a ray of hope to a South Asian researcher like myself, who historically has had low representation in the scholarly world.” 

Devyani Tewari

Devyani Tewari (32), Indian, is a doctoral candidate in Law and Society at the University of Victoria, and holds a Master’s in International Human Rights Law and a Bachelor’s in Law. Her thesis, as well as other academic publications and media articles, are centered on gender inequality and discrimination against women with disabilities. 

Her work at the Human Rights Law Network in India led to her writing on the issue of underprivileged children’s right to health. This prompted government authorities to take measures to support these children. At the Latika Roy Foundation, she contributed to advancing underprivileged children’s right to education. 

Upon completion of her studies, Devyani plans to continue her teaching career in higher education and be a leader in the area of research on the rights of women with disabilities in India and the region. She aims to facilitate legal reforms to reduce discrimination against disabled women in India. She wants to support the establishment of a research center on gender and disability that will coordinate with government and NGOs to pursue projects focusing on the rights of women and girls.