By Harold Ayodo
His passion for science started over 20 years ago when he was a pupil at the nondescript El-das Primary School in Wajir in North Eastern Province.
Dr Abdisalan Mohamed Noor first learnt about science in the sand-floored school that lacked walls and windows.
He defied the odds to become the youngest African to win a prestigious international research fellowship from the UK medical charity, The Wellcome Trust, last year.
Kenya Medical Research Institute scientist Abdisalan Mohamed Noor.[PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD] |
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Award
"The award encouraged me to investigate whether health prevention reaches the poor and marginalised," he says.
The ninth born in a family of 27 children grew up herding cattle and camels before he joined Mang’u High School.
"It was at Mang’u where I become confident that I could achieve my childhood dream of becoming a research scientist," Dr Noor recalls.
He joined the University of Nairobi to study Engineering and graduated in 1999 before interning at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi. "My passion for research landed me a job as a research assistant at Kemri in 2003," Noor says.