The University of Liverpool’s Computational Biology Facility (CBF) has announced the winners of its fourth International Women’s Day (IWD) Scholarship – an annual award which aims to bridge the gap for women in the field of data science.
Although data science is a field in high demand, statistics show that less than 25% of data science professionals are women. The IWD Scholarship aims to bridge that and allows access to all of the CBF's professional courses for five years alongside peer-to-peer support.
This year the scholarship saw an incredible number of high-quality applications, making the selection process more competitive than ever. In recognition of this, we are thrilled to announce that this year, we have expanded the scholarship to award two outstanding recipients, Mehnaz Qureshi and Nitsuh Wubishet Boru.
Mehnaz has a background in lab-based virology research but has had to step away from the career she loves. Determined to stay connected to her passion for science, she is now looking to reskill in computational biology - a field that allows her to continue to contribute to biological research, whilst balancing her other various commitments.
Mehnaz shared: “I am truly grateful to receive the IWD Scholarship. As a woman balancing personal and professional commitments, having access to high-quality education with flexible learning is invaluable.”
Nitsuh Wubishet Boru holds a degree in Mathematical and Statistical Modelling and is currently on a career break. Following this career break, Nitsuh is eager to reskill in data science for biological research.
Nitsuh said: “This scholarship, offered by the Computational Biology Facility presents a vital opportunity to strengthen my programming skills, particularly in R, and deepen my expertise in advanced quantitative methods essential for computational biology.
“Beyond technical growth, this scholarship aligns with my long-term goal of becoming a research professor in Computational Biology or Bioinformatics. It will connect me with leading professionals in the field, fostering collaboration and mentorship opportunities.”
Dr Megan Hasoon, CBF Data Scientist said: “On behalf of the CBF, I’d like to extend my congratulations to Mehnaz and Nitsuh. This marks the fourth round of the CBF IWD Scholarship and this year we had an overwhelming number of fantastic applications, which made selecting our winners a challenging but rewarding task.
We’re delighted to be able to support Mehnaz and Nitsuh on their journey into computational biology and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for our winners! We are already looking forward to next year’s scholarship round; receiving and reading the inspiring applications from women eager to enter the field of data science!”