Biography of Mansurah Abdulazeez, female scientist from BUK, who developed plant-based anti-cancer drugs.
Have you meet Mansurah Abdulazeez? She is a Nigerian woman and lecturer in the prestigious Bayero University,Kano.. She is a scientific researcher into the cure of cancer and has recently developed a plant-based anti-cancer drug. She is also a champion for girl-child education as you can see from her tweet recently.
There is no doubt that Nigerians appreciate intellectual achievement however small. My story exemplifies the importance of girl-child education, support from family, educational institutions and government. Opportunities still abound but requires tenacity and personal discipline. https://t.co/GcKc3dRYEL
— Mansurah Abdulazeez (@Dr_Mansurah) May 1, 2020
Early Life/Educational Background
Growing up, Mansurah has always enjoyed science and originally wanted to become a medical doctor, but ended up studying biochemistry during her undergraduate studies at the great Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.
She also obtained her master’s degree and Ph.D., studying antihypertensive and anticancer activities of African plants. She was also a visiting scholar at Chiang Mai University in Thailand for six months as part of her Ph.D. research.
Her anti-cancer research focus
Her research is aimed at identifying potent, safe and effective anticancer agents from Nigerian plants.
She and her team have screened and confirmed the cytotoxic activities of extracts of the drumstick (Moringa oleifera) and soursop (Annona muricata) trees as well as the native Nigerian shrub Peristrophe bicalyculata on cervical cancer and lung cancer cell lines.
The team also studied the different anticancer mechanisms of action of these plants and they found that the plants act in the body through a variety of mechanisms — there is no single model of action for all plants.
She decided to go into the research of African plants because according to her, she realized that “the anti-cancer properties of African plants are largely untapped and unknown”.
Dr Mansurah Abdulazeez is an award winning molecular Biologist and recently got a grant of N31 million from TETFUND to further her research.
She is an inspiration to future girl-scientists. Kudos to her and more grease to her elbow.
