Meet the finalists of the 2023 Being Edinburgh Award and find out who won. Meet the 2023 finalists Iffat Aga Image Iffat is co-founder of Sehat Kahani, a digital healthcare organisation that enables people in Pakistan to access a qualified physician in less than 60 seconds. By creating a network of 7,500 HCPs, Iffat’s work has brought a large population of female physicians back to work, and is actively improving healthcare access for a variety of communities, including those with low income with over 1.9 Million successful online consultations. For her work at Sehat Kahani, Iffat received the Heroine of Healthcare award at the World Health Summit in 2022 and been recognised as a Grand Challenges Canada Innovator. She is also a Commonwealth Scholar, and a MIT Elevate Prize winner. Degree: 2021 MSc Global eHealth Current position: Co-founder & COO, Sehat Kahani Henry Anumudu - 2023 winner! Image A Mastercard Foundation Scholar Alumni at Edinburgh, Henry’s commitment to creating educational opportunities for children from low-income communities has led him to establish the not-for-profit organisation Sharing Life Africa, which has supported thousands of young people to get the most out of their education. Henry currently leads strategic communications at Teach for All, and his vast experience lies in using storytelling and social media to bring people together and to build movements for grassroots organisations promoting inclusive education. Degree: 2022 MSc Africa and International Development Current position: Head of Strategic Communications, Teach For All Read Henry's story Narayan Hosmane Image Over the course of his career as a research professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Narayan has used his Edinburgh education to make a huge contribution to the field of cancer research. He has published over 300 papers in leading scientific journals and is an author of five books on boron science and cancer therapies. His research projects have applications in many areas, from the development of new cancer treatment methods to sustainable ways to produce the wonder material graphene. He was ranked by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in the top 50 percent of the most cited chemists in the world from 1981–1997. He has also won numerous awards including the Humboldt Research Award for senior scientists (2001 and 2007) and the BUSA Award for Distinguished Achievements in Boron Science. Over the years, Narayan has also been a dedicated mentor to many undergraduate students. Degree: 1974 PhD Chemistry Current position: Research Professor & Inaugural Board of Trustees Professor at Northern Illinois University Mia Kapun Image Mia is a Chemistry PhD student at the University of Cambridge, passionate about research and inspiring the next generation of leaders in STEM, and a proud Edinburgh alumna. As a PhD student, Mia is working on the development of novel antibody-drug conjugates for cancer therapy. Over the years, Mia has done research across many different institutions including Roche, Imperial College London, Ruđer Bošković Institute, and now the University of Cambridge. Alongside her PhD, Mia volunteers her time to work as Excellerator 2023 Executive Director at the Global Biotech Revolution (GBR), a youth-led non-profit which connects and develops future leaders across biotech, healthcare and life sciences, to accelerate the growth and advancement of these ecosystems. Mia and others involved in GBR aim to connect the future bio-leaders, as they tend to be isolated in regional clusters and focus on self-career development, help them grow and support each other’s ideas and knowledge through collaborative ventures. Mia is also heavily involved in outreach and mentorship and is part of The University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry Alumni Mentoring programme and is mentoring undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Cambridge. Degree: 2020 MCHEM Chemistry Current position: PhD student, University of Cambridge and Leader Initiatives Director, Global Biotech Revolution About the selection committee We gathered a group of University of Edinburgh students, staff and alumni representatives to help select our four finalists. Go behind the scenes This article was published on 2024-10-28
