I’m very blessed to be lucky in having several great career opportunities however among the achievements I am most proud of was starting clinical speciality training here in Denmark within 4 years of arriving in the country. Even though I decided full time clinical work wasn’t for me in the end, I worked hard for years, whilst building an academic career, to get into that role. Of course, becoming a tenured Associate Professor in Clinical Epidemiology is my biggest career achievement so far. It’s what all young academics dream of. I’m so proud to have achieved this at 35 years old and am so excited for the career journey ahead!

There are many challenges that come from being a young black woman with an Arabic name from a working-class background to achieving the milestones I have in my career. My mother struggled to raise six children on her own in a foreign country and much of her challenge lay in dealing with people’s prejudices and beliefs about black Muslim women. However, she served as an exceptional role model for me on how to navigate overt and unconscious prejudices. Many others have subsequently done the same, providing support systems that have allowed me to reach my potential in clinical academia, which can sometimes be an inhospitable environment for diverse talent. Other than that, dealing with the intense workloads, high expectations and responsibilities of the job are a challenge for many of us and I manage these by intentionally doubling down on my self-care in times of particularly high pressure, including prioritising my sleep and developing a strong yoga and meditation practice. I believe another key contributor to my successes has been the great mentorship of truly exceptional individuals I have been privileged to receive. Finally, finding time for therapy has also been a key contributor as it’s allowed me to identify and tackle the big obstacles hindering my success.

What goal/ dream would you like to accomplish?

A life goal of mine is become among the first black woman professors in Denmark. This is an important goal for me because I recall not really conceiving of a future in academia for myself until I attended the first UK black and minority ethnic research academics conference and seeing, for the first time, a group of black professors and realising that I could also work towards this. It really brought home to me that you need to see it to become it. So, I hope to achieve this goal and be able to inspire more young black women to do the same in the future.

The best advice I’ve ever received has been to remain true to your authentic self. You can never be the best at what you do if you are imitating someone else. You can only ever be the best at what you do by being yourself. Sticking to this advice has meant I always feel I’m on the right path, regardless of setbacks or failures along the way. In addition to this, knowing what I know now, the additional piece of advice I would have given to myself at the start of my career is to be proactive in seeking good people to work with and that includes ensuring you always show up as a good person to work with yourself. I now get to work with dedicated, innovative, and caring people to improve the lives of others and that inspires and motivates me every day.

You cannot launch your dream career without the support and confidence of others but If you want to reach your goals, you must also find confidence in yourself.