The OWSD newsletter brings you the latest news and announcements from the Secretariat and from our international network. In this edition, meet the recently awarded 2019 PhD Fellows, read about how the Early Career Fellows are training to become scientific leaders, catch up with the OWSD Mauritius National Chapter, and more.
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2019 PhD Fellows announced
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Twenty-seven fellows from 16 countries in the developing world have received OWSD Fellowships to pursue their PhDs in another developing country in the Global South. The new fellows are researching topics ranging from the impact of gold mining on soil in Cameroon, to 3D reconstruction of skeletal structures based on deep learning technology, to the effects of natural dyes and food preservatives on female reproductive cells. The 2019 fellows also include the first fellow in 20 years from Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Two workshops for Early Career Fellows focus on leadership skills, grant management
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An orientation workshop for 2019 OWSD Early Career Fellows in Trieste, and a second workshop for 2018 Fellows to develop scientific leadership capacity held in Dar es Salaam, built Fellows' skills in various aspects of grant management, managing research teams, science communications, engaging with stakeholders outside academia, and more.
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Celebrating the 2019 PhD Fellowship Graduates
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Each year, OWSD is proud to celebrate the new graduates of our PhD Fellowship programme. Meet the 18 fellows who received their PhDs in 2019, and join us in congratulating these new Drs.!
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OWSD National Chapters: new Chapter in Jordan; Tanzania holds launch event
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A new OWSD National Chapter was established in Jordan, and the Tanzania Chapter officially launched with a workshop and celebration in Dar es Salaam.
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OWSD Mauritius National Chapter forms dynamic collaborations to promote women in STEM
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Launched in 2017, the OWSD Mauritius National Chapter has quickly established fruitful collaborations with several key partners to promote women in STEM in the country. Its recent activities have included workshops, a thesis competition, student debates, demonstrations of mobile technology and more.
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Meet the Fellows:
Afrah Khairallah
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In each edition of the OWSD newsletter, we feature one of our current PhD fellows. To close out 2019 we asked Afrah Khairallah, a 2015 fellow from Sudan, to answer a few questions for us. Kausila is currently completing a full-time PhD fellowship at Rhodes University in South Africa, where she is using a computational approach to study the potential of a specific enzyme, GTP Cyclohydrolase I, to be used as an anti-malarial drug.
 How did you learn about the OWSD fellowship, and what difference has it made to your career?
I learned about OWSD from a friend who was an OWSD Fellow at that time. She encouraged me to pursue my postgraduate studies and apply for the fellowship. The day I received the acceptance letter, I was thrilled. I felt like I had finally gotten the support needed to reach my full potential and fulfill my dreams. The support and financial security allowed me to focus my efforts on my research. Because of the conference support included in the fellowship, I was also able to attend and present my research to international audiences at the ISC 2019 supercomputing conference in Germany, the 27th conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology and the 18th European Conference on Computational Biology in Basel, Switzerland. There, I had the opportunity to meet the keynote speakers, network and learn about the latest developments in my research field. I am truly honoured and grateful to be an OWSD fellow!
What are you researching? What first made you interested in this subject?
My research involves the application of computational tools and high-performance computing to drug discovery. I am aiming to identify new metabolic targets and novel drugs to combat malaria. I virtually screen compounds for their potential to be used against a specific malarial enzyme. Once screened, the compounds are filtered according to their best binding energies and then taken forward for further simulations and analysis. I have chosen this field because it combines my two areas of interest: biology and computer science.
 Has anything surprised you about your research experience?
What has surprised me is the way technology is emerging and affecting the current state of research. We are encountering a fourth industrial revolution that entails advances in computing power, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, which has already been shown to alter the way we conduct research. I think about this every time I’m doing my research, when I am able to virtually screen thousands of compounds against malarial enzymes in such a short time.
What are your plans for the future? What will you do after you complete your PhD?
After receiving my PhD, I plan to do post-doctorate research in my field for few years in order to have a solid enough foundation of knowledge to establish a computational biology research unit. I would like to collaborate with researchers worldwide to progress the research in my home country and in Africa. I would also like to take part in establishing the infrastructure for high-performance computing in Africa. In addition, I’m also very interested in lecturing and in creating opportunities for young women, so that we can work toward equal gender representation and inclusiveness in science. I have so much potential that I would like to pass on to other women.
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OWSD PhD Fellow Regina Abotsi receives prestigious LOREAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Award
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In November 2019, 2015 OWSD PhD Fellow Regina Abotsi from Ghana, currently completing her PhD at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, became one of 20 women scientists to receive the L'Oréal-UNESCO 2019 Young Talent Award for Sub-Saharan Africa, under the prestigious For Women in Science programme. Regina was recognized for her research on 'Determining antibiotic resistance in potentially pathogenic bacteria present in the respiratory tract of HIV-infected children.'
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OWSD Annual Report published
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The year 2018 was a particularly exciting year for OWSD as it marked the 25th Anniversary of the organization, and also saw the launch of the new Early Career Fellowship programme, with a first cohort of 19 fellows. In addition, seven new National Chapters were launched (and four re-launched), 16 PhD Fellowships were awarded, and the PhD Fellowship programme reached the important milestone of 250 graduates. Read all about these happenings and more in OWSD's first public Annual Report.
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That's it for this edition - if you like this newsletter, please share it.
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