Get to Know Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham

 

 

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I am a pharmacist and a  Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutics at King’s College London. Before my current position, I held positions at University College London (UCL) as an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) postdoctoral researcher and at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) as a seconded Quality National Expert.  I am the first graduate of the University of East Anglia School of Pharmacy to be awarded a PhD and was the 2018 recipient of the Outstanding Woman in STEM Precious Award.

 

I lead my research group 'The Raimi-Abraham Group'. The core pillars of my research are Ageing and Global Health. The cross-cutting themes which build on the research pillars include the development of biomimetic nanostructures as synthetic substrates for 3D cell culture models, nano-facilitated strategies in infection detection and treatment and investigating the therapeutic and multimorbidity aspects of Infection (in the context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

 

In March 2020, following on from the Malaria in Africa: What’s next? event (a two-day multidisciplinary meeting that discussed malaria and its emerging resistance in Africa) I founded the King’s College London Fight the Fakes Chapter. King’s College London Fight the Fakes is a multidisciplinary campaign with a primary focus to raise awareness on the global issue of substandard and falsified (SF) anti-infective medicines particularly antimalarials and antibiotics which causes several deaths annually globally.  In addition, our campaign also includes raising awareness of the rising use of online SF medicines in the United Kingdom.

 

Earlier this year I joined the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Great Britain (APS) board. I was first involved with the APS during my PhD. As an APS Board Member, I intend to bring my commitment and passion to pharmaceutical sciences and global health using my experience in public and stakeholder engagement to the APS, APS activities and to highlight the global importance of Pharmaceutical Sciences to the wider community. My main aim in this role is to increase engagement and involvement of current and future APS members  - so far in this area, I have been involved in the development of the members and non-members survey with the view to use findings from this to establish member-focused initiatives to increase engagement and participation.  Another goal is to support increasing the global visibility of the APS and APS activity with social media and virtual initiatives. I am part of the Emerging Technologies APS Focus Group as an APS Board Advisor.  I was drawn to the Emerging Technologies Focus Group due to my research interests as well as Dimitrios’s (Chair and Founder) drive, energy and ambition! I look forward to supporting and contributing to the focus group’s mission and vision.

 

I have an extensive and original public and stakeholder engagement portfolio which includes uniquely exploring the use of the Arts namely street and public art to engage the public with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) research through my social enterprise STEAM:ED Collective, a TEDx talk (TEDx Talk title “Elements of Change: Becoming an Independent Researcher) and a “Go and No-go pills” Somerset House 24/7 exhibition. More recently, I was invited to work the BBC News Africa as part of their campaign raising awareness son the impact of fake medicines in Africa (see also “Why are fake medicines a problem in Africa?” and “The teenage entrepreneurs detecting fake medicines in Nigeria” - BBC What’s New).

 

The piece “How can you tell the difference between real and fake medicines? shows me taking a look at some real and fake anti-malarial drugs that were purchased in Nigeria whilst giving general tips on how to spot fake medicines. The video was produced by Hannah Gelbart (BBC). Additionally, another piece “How to spoke fake drugs with a mobile phone” was produced as part of the “People Fixing the World” series.

 

In 2020, I started a podcast, Monday Science is a listener-driven engaging weekly podcast bringing you the latest research and news in Science, Technology, Medicine and Health. Monday Science has achieved a lot in a short time and I am extremely proud! Monday Science was added to  Anchor’s Amplifying Black Voices playlist on Spotify in July 2020 and recently received funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry towards a project aimed at opening up conversations about diversity in chemical sciences and engaging the public with chemistry using creative approaches.  In July and October 2021, Monday Science ranked in South Africa’s and Ghana's top 100 and Cyprus top 20 Science Podcasts(according to Chartable). More recently, Monday Science was selected as one of the Best UK Science Podcasts by Feedspot (rank achieved 13!).

 

To find out more see

Dr Bahijja Raimi-Abraham’s website - https://www.bahijjaraimiabraham.com/

King’s College London Website - https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/bahijja-raimi-abraham

The Raimi-Abraham Group Website - https://www.theraimiabrahamgroup.com/

Monday Science -  www.mondaysciencepodcast.com

STEAM:ED Collective – www.steamedc.com

Location: London, UK

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