Service for the greater good through volunteering and leadership roles is a personal characteristic Ruth Nanjala holds dear. While reading for a BSc Microbiology at Pwani University, Ruth was a peer counsellor and mentor in the guidance and counselling department. She was also the Vice chair of the Pwani University BioScience Students Association, where she helped connect students with established scientists and organized events to promote the uptake of science within and outside the University. Presently, Ruth runs the ‘my science journey webinar series’, which invites established African bio-scientists around the globe to motivate upcoming African scientists to continue pursuing careers in science.

 

In her first year of the DPhil in Molecular and Cellular Medicine at the University of Oxford, Ruth has served as a co-programme manager for the Oxford Africa Conference Committee, where she helped design a detailed programme outline for the 2023 conference. She was also a volunteer for the ‘focus of research in Africa’ conference organized by AfOx; a member of the AfriSoc mentoring Scheme, AND A reviewer of applications from African applicants to Oxford for the 2022-2023 application window.