Mansurah Abdulazeez’s story begins in Kano, where her curiosity for how life works was stronger than the limitations society tried to place around her. She grew up asking deeper questions than most children her age, always wanting to understand the inner workings of the world around her. That instinctive hunger for knowledge would one day carry her into the heart of modern genetics and biotechnology, fields where she would rise to become one of Northern Nigeria’s most respected scientific voices.
Her path became clearer when she left for Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to study Biochemistry. ABU was where her passion matured into purpose. She immersed herself in the intense world of laboratory work, discovering how plants, cells and molecules could come together to explain disease and healing. She stayed on at ABU for her Master’s and later her PhD, focusing on the medicinal power of African plants. This work took her far beyond the classroom. She spent time in Thailand as a visiting scholar at Chiang Mai University, widening her perspective and gaining access to new techniques that shaped her future career.
Her return to Nigeria was not the end of her academic journey. It was the beginning of her mission. She joined Bayero University Kano, where she has spent years building her career in the Centre for Biotechnology Research. Through steady progress and a deep commitment to scientific excellence, she rose to become Deputy Director of Research and Genomics at the centre. In that role she became a bridge between advanced scientific inquiry and the urgent health challenges facing everyday Nigerians.
Her research focuses on something profoundly meaningful: identifying the hidden healing potential of African plants. Mansurah examines how natural compounds found across Nigeria’s biodiversity can fight cancer, hypertension and other serious conditions. It is a marriage of tradition and innovation, where indigenous knowledge meets global biomedical science.
Her work began attracting international attention when she secured a major national research grant of more than thirty million naira to support drug discovery from local plants. Not long after, her efforts were recognised abroad. She received the Science by Women Fellowship in Spain, where she joined leading researchers studying complex problems like therapy resistance in breast cancer. That experience did not change who she was, It strengthened her belief that African scientists deserve a stronger presence in global research conversations.
Mansurah has published widely, contributing dozens of studies and reviews to scientific literature. Her papers highlight the anticancer and cardiovascular potentials of Nigerian medicinal plants, giving global audiences a scientific lens into resources that are abundant on the continent yet understudied. International platforms have profiled her work, including journals and features that spotlight her as a rising force in African science.
Yet behind all the achievements is a woman who remains grounded. She mentors young scientists, especially girls from Northern Nigeria who have never seen someone like them in a laboratory coat leading advanced research. She tells them that brilliance is not tied to geography, and that their dreams are valid whether or not the world recognises them immediately. Her story has become a beacon of what is possible when talent meets opportunity and determination.
Dr. Mansurah Abdulazeez represents a generation of Northern Nigerian women who are stepping confidently into fields once seen as out of reach. She proves that world class research can grow from local soil and that Africa’s scientific future will be shaped by those who dare to push past boundaries. Her story is still unfolding, but it already carries a powerful message that knowledge can transform destinies, persistence can move mountains, and from places often overlooked can emerge minds capable of changing the world.
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