'Empowering excellence' - Professor Bernadine Idowu gives inaugural professorial lecture at UWL
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More than 120 young people, students, staff mentors and mentees, family and friends attended Professor Bernadine Idowu’s inaugural professorial lecture at the University of West London on Wednesday 30 October.
Bernadine is Professor of Biomedical Sciences at the University’s School of Medicine and Biosciences, where she has developed a high-quality diverse curriculum.
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The evening began in the University’s William Barry Theatre with a lecture from Professor Idowu entitled, ‘Empowering Excellence: Creating Space and Opportunity for Black Students and Academics in Biomedical Science.’ Bernadine charted her own educational journey and celebrated the Black female professors who impacted her, the importance of Biomedical Science and of empowering Black students and academics in the field.
Out of 24,405 professors in the UK, approximately 6,400 are female, 1,600 are of Asian heritage and less than 1% are Black. Of these, approximately 157 are Black male, 72 are Black female, seven are in STEM and only one, Bernadine, is in Biomedical Sciences.
Professor Idowu explored why Black scientists are underrepresented in Biomedical Science and the leaky pipeline in becoming a researcher including the barriers along the way and what she is doing to intervene. This includes creating a Black in Biomedical Sciences undergraduate network and founding the Black Minority and Ethnic (BME) Early Career Researcher (ECR) network.
I want to use my lived experiences and challenges to work in partnership with research councils and charities to be the change I want to see.
My vision is to break down barriers and enable Black students to pursue careers in all areas of biosciences,”
said Bernadine.
After the lecture, attendees gathered in the University’s Pillars Restaurant for photos, networking, refreshments and cake.
We are proud of Professor Idowu’s determination and tenacity in making positive strides to address the underrepresentation of people from Black heritage backgrounds both in Biomedical science and in academic roles,”
commented UWL’s Provost and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Anthony Woodman.
Dr Selam Kidane (Lecturer in Psychology at UWL’s School of Human and Social Sciences), who attended the event with her daughter, added,
Professor Idowu’s dedication and talent serve as a profound inspiration for young and upcoming Black scientists and professionals, bringing invaluable insight to the scientific community and standing as a true credit to our university family.
My daughter is in her final year of medical school, and I could see her standing taller, filled with the encouragement that there are indeed people like us reaching new heights in this field.”
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