Medical Scientists

"You don’t have to strive to be liked but always strive to be respected for your work."

"In Nigeria, while I was at the University of Ife, one of the things that I (and so many women) had to deal with was the sexual predators."

"AORTIC is the premier organisation for cancer research and training in Africa. As the chair of the AORTIC research committee, I work with outstanding cancer scientists within and outside Africa to provide scientific leadership and direction for cancer research in Africa."

"The black population is disproportionately affected by cancer globally. I worked with several experts and institutions"

"I see the work that I do as a calling – the scientific discoveries that we achieve impact lives and that gives me the strength to wake up the next morning and keep going."

"The Global Oncology Clinical Trials Congress for blacks is very dear to my heart given the underrepresentation of the black population in clinical trials."

"I’m very passionate about global health issues. I’m very passionate about equality."

"For me, the biggest obstacle has often been being the lone voice in a board of mostly men and I’m the only woman. When I don’t have other people to affirm the things I’m saying it can make it easier to dismiss. Whereas when others hear two or three voices articulating the same thing they start paying attention."

"If global health boards were more inclusive and diverse I think that we might see a change in some research – with a focus on the person as a whole rather than only focusing on a disease."

"We are all humans but we also have different perspectives in life."

"When organisations don't embrace diversity, I say it's their loss. If we are going to have people making decisions about issues in low and middle income countries,we must listen to the people who see the reality on the ground. Sometimes, the things that matter are very basic. And we need to have that voice in board meetings."

"In the Republic of Congo, there is no research culture yet. In Germany, it is a given that students also give their opinions and that discussions result. In Congo, the importance of exchanging ideas has not yet been grasped. However, in research, what counts are new ideas, and discussions are necessary."

"Women in research, especially biomedical research, face many obstacles and discrimination. Earlier in my career, the perception was that a woman had to choose between having a family and a career."

"They are ghostly… The Congolese Foundation for Medical Research (FCRM) is a unique example in the country, and probably in Central Africa: operating with public and private subsidies, it conducts research activities directly linked to the health of the Congolese population and the training of young Congolese."

"Raised in a family of six children, being the only girl and the eldest facing a demanding father, I learned competition and above all to never feel diminished because I was a woman."

"I started studying in France, where I passed my medical exam and my state doctorate. When I returned to Africa,I wanted to specialize in a field of research that is important to my compatriots. Malaria kills thousands of people in Africa every year. I want not only to fight this disease."

"Since the great demonstration for women's right to vote on June 21, 1908 in London, the place of women in society has improved and, of course, this change is visible in universities where more and more young girls are enrolled."

"In Congo, we are probably at the stage where Germany was about 25 years ago. The difficulties start with the Internet, which does not work well. Congolese students therefore have difficulty following the latest research."

"The dynamism of research is assessed by indicators such as publications and patents. With regard to biomedical research, which is my field, the African continent bears the heaviest burden of disease in the world, but it is also the continent that invests the least in research, development and innovation."

"The critical mass of qualified personnel capable of validly serving the needs of research does not exist. Which means that research teams are generally shaky."

"The level is very high and I do there what I cannot achieve in Congo. Both parties benefit from this close cooperation because the Institute obviously does not have direct access to tropical diseases and the required samples."

"I created the country's first molecular biology laboratory at the University of Brazzaville, the capital of Congo. If this project worked, it was only thanks to the support of my colleagues in Tübingen."

"My most challenging period was when I lost my mother and it dawned on me that I had no parents on planet Earth. My most inspiring period comes when I see those that I have trained doing well."

"Indeed, I feel great. I believe that this is a confirmation of hard work over the years. These Fellow awards do not come without hard work and recognition of your area of specialty over the years and I must say it has been God. I acknowledge unashamedly that I am what I am by the grace of God. If it was left to man, I would not have been able to achieve this much."

"I started my molecular biology hands-on-training workshop in 2009. This followed my post-doctoral fellowships in France and Germany. I realised that molecular biology techniques were not common then and I was interested in building the capacity of the young ones as well as interested participants who comprised university lecturers, Medical Laboratory Scientists and other stakeholders from different geo-political zones in the country."

"I have had several challenges along the journey but the fact is that those challenges bring out the best in me."

"My laboratory is referred to as a German laboratory because most (85%) of the equipment I have in my laboratory was bought wiith the German funding by by either the Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Foundation or the German Research Foundation (DFG)."

"My role model was my late mother, Mrs. Stella Okwui Ebigwei who was a widow. She instilled discipline, hard work and fear and reverence of God in my sister and I and so I had a focus that I would not derail but be a notable person someday. She was my strong supporter and always called me ‘Star’."

"...my professional interest in traditional medicine was inspired by an eczema rash on my feet that left patches of black and white on my body when I was a university student."

"I feel great that I am in lead of a multi-skilled team of scientists: medical doctors, pharmacists, chemists, laboratory technologists, botanists, sociologists … as principal investigator into a natural formulation used by our communities for over 20 years against viral challenges."

"My grandfather, like other Africans of his time, used traditional medicine to treat several ailments. As children, we would be given baths in an extract made from the leaves of the omwoloola tree (Entada abyssinica) to treat skin infections, among other conditions."

"Many of the traditional medicines are scientifically sound treatments. Even the large pharmaceutical companies are picking them from here to be developed into drugs, such as the Ugandan greenheart tree (Warbugia ugandensis), extracts of which have been used to treat coughs and malaria."

"What we are promoting is standardization; to develop the right dose and delivery method for safety and effectiveness. This will also support the development of our economy, because we would get World Health Organization certification for export."

"Let me tell you, my young doctor friends, that a cheerful face and step, and neckcloth and kindly joke, a power of exciting, a setting a-going, a good laugh, are stock in our trade not to be despised. The hearty heart does good like a medicine."

"The Hindu intellect has thus, independently appreciated the dignity of objective facts, devised the methods of observation and experiment, elaborated the machinery of logical analysis and true investigation, attacked the external universe as a system of secrets to be unraveled, and has wrung out of nature the knowledge which constitutes the foundations of Science."

"Some of their (Hindu) investigations were solid achievements in positive knowledge as in Material Medica, Therapeutics, Anatomy, Embroyology, Metallurgy, Chemistry, Physics and descriptive Zoology. And in these also, generally speaking, Hindu enquiries were not less, if not more, definite, exact and fruitful than the Greeks and Medieval Europeans."

"“A holistic approach is essential in addressing anxiety, stress, and depression. Connecting the dots between mental health and physical health is a must. One cannot have a healthy body without a healthy mind, and vice versa.”"

"“The pandemic amplified the interest and need for medical and nutritional information, and this is especially true for women. Women are demanding more access to this information from credible sources, and this needs to be presented and analyzed clearly for the lay public.”"

"“There is so much stigma about mental health as well as blame. I felt that blame when my ex-husband passed.”"

"“Funding is critical to advance women’s health. We cannot move the needle on women’s health without money. Men must also be involved in that conversation in an equal way”."

"“My philosophy is to be honest. It’s not about being the best. It’s about being better than you were before, improving yourself. Even baby steps can be the difference in improving your health.”"

"It's something that almost every woman, if she's being honest, will deal with basically from menopause on."

"“The magazine will provide expert opinions and interpretations that readers can continue to refer to and have access to at the palm of their hands. I see this magazine as a real patient encounter where I can be their personal expert on issues that really matter.”"

"That means making sure your diet is good, making sure that you're getting enough protein, that you're getting enough zinc, that you're getting enough folic acid, all of those are important for hair growth," she said, adding, "Your styling and grooming habits are incredibly important."

"I protect my hair as much as possible," she said. "I don't think in a given week, I'm ever fully blowing out my hair. I'm either letting it air-dry naturally if it's a weekend, or I'm coming in with it wet for work and I'm just having the front blown out and I put the faux-ponytail on so that it's reasonably presentable for TV.""

"Be kind and gentle and patient with yourself as an older woman," she said. "Don't only be gentle with yourself figuratively, but literally. You can't do the same heat, the same pulling, the same processing and styling as a woman who is middle-aged."

"That doesn't mean [hair] still can't be fabulous. It just means it requires a different approach."

"Experiment with different types of things, whether they are fun hats or scarves or even wigs,"

"Aggressive color, color process or heat process on a long-term basis is absolutely going to damage hair. That's a fact," Ashton said. "So, it's a matter of is it worth it? How much are you going to damage it, and for how long?"

""The earlier we all prioritize the health and well-being of our hair, the better [it] will be across our lifetime,"