Breaking through barriers
Born and raised in Syria, Namat Aizougi now lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden, as a licensed practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, a pharmacist, artist, poet, and life coach.
Having graduated as a pharmacist from Aleppo University, she moved to Sweden after being married and set out on her path of success.
Namat had to transfer her academic qualifications to Sweden, learn Swedish, all while caring for a young family. So what inspired her journey? “My love for science, art, chemistry, physiology, philosophy, and nature,” she said, “combined with my curiosity for what life is.”
“I found a path of clues in my passion which led me to pharmaceutical sciences.”
As a proud mother of six daughters, Namat supports and inspires other women and girls to “follow their passion, dare to dream, and believe in yourself. Science is wonderful with endless answers and infinite dimensions.”
Rewriting the narrative
“The narrative of why young girls and women can't do something is often a lot louder and stronger than why they can,” said Numa Dhamani, proud holder of a degree in Physics and Chemistry from The University of Texas at Austin. She currently leads data science development at the Global Disinformation Index.
For several years, Numa has studied how malign narratives spread across social networks. Previously, she served as the Principal Investigator on several DARPA research programs, contributed to peer-reviewed international research journals, and presented at multiple conferences on disinformation, building responsible and ethical AI, and machine learning research.
These experiences have helped Numa to enable policy changes that respond to the acute problems of misinformation and disinformation. Her work is contributing to improving the accuracy of the information we come across online everyday.
Numa’s advice for young women and girls in science is to “find or build a community of women who encourage, support, and inspire you. Advocate not only for yourself but also for other female scientists and their needs.”
Striving toward a greater purpose
Being the only girl alongside nine boys in a middle school robotics team might sound intimidating to some. But Zaynah Bhanji took it as the motivation she needed to push for success, ultimately leading the team to win a spot at the provincial robotics competition when she was in the eighth grade.
She encourages young women and girls aspiring to study science to “take full advantage of all the opportunities you have. With access to the internet, there are so many resources available to learn about any topic you are interested in.”
Alongside studying Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo, Zaynah has worked with and supported companies like CIBC, TD, Deloitte, and Microsoft. Zaynah has spoken at leading conferences globally, including in Dubai, Poland, Toronto, San Francisco, and more. She is also a leading advocate for women and girls in technology and inspires girls to pursue science or tech related fields.
Her motto is to encourage other young girls to “explore different topics within science and technology, gain as much breadth and depth as you can, and have fun with it!”
Improving the quality of life
Sofia Hamirally, from Portugal, is a virologist and works in the industry-leading biopharmaceutical regulation intelligence networks. After reading science and genetics in her undergraduate studies, Sofia specialised in Virology during Doctorate studies at the University of Cambridge in the UK and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School in the USA.
She was inspired by the “discovery of the structure of DNA, the double-helix, which was pioneered by Watson and Crick back in 1953, in Cambridge, UK.”
In her work, Sofia tries to “apply our ethics to the process of scientific discovery and help advance global knowledge through the academic and professional worlds." Her contributions help to ensure that conversations between what is right or wrong in science are carefully considered.
“The study of science and its advancement is unique in that it can shape human progress," she says, citing "the recent medical breakthroughs in the development of vaccines and therapeutics to fight the SARS-COV-2 virus.”
“These are examples of how science can save lives and improve the quality of life for humankind. If you are inspired, passionate and have the drive to contribute to shaping similar progress, come on board!”
