A graduate of the University of Dhaka in biochemistry and MS molecular biology, Dr Qadri pursued her studies at Liverpool University in 1980. In 1988, she started working in ICCDR, B as an associate scientist and is currently the director of Centre for Vaccine Science. By her groundbreaking medical research work, especially in taking it to the field, Dr Qadri has been instrumental in the improvement of the quality of life of millions of people.

In her episode of the Ramon Magsaysay Lecture Series, Dr Qadri shared the journey she and her team faced in their fight against the infectious diseases that have been ravaging Bangladesh annually. Despite the millions of cases of cholera and typhoid fever in the country every year, Dr Qadri and her team were unfazed and made significant improvements in their vaccine studies, genome analysis, and more.

Read also: Here's Everything You Need to Know About 'Long COVID'

However, things changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and they had no choice but to halt their ongoing studies and pivot to developing vaccines for the novel coronavirus. They began studying antibody responses on recovered COVID-19 patients and monitoring the seroprevalence of antibodies in rural and urban areas. Despite the significant improvements, Dr Qadri believes that herd protection for the country is still a far claim at the moment.

On the topic of being a leading female scientist in the world today, Dr Qadri expressed: "I actually never considered myself as a woman [only] but as a whole person to be taken seriously." She shared that she would receive advice from her colleagues to go home, rest, and tend to her family but she said that her ambition, determination, and passion for her work motivated her to extend her role from just inside the laboratory to the implementation process on the field.

"Females in our sphere of work should be given that extra inch so that they can carry on the work. And that little bit of extra inch, that little bit of support, take them a long way. Being a woman, I see to it that I do that all the time. Honestly, it is difficult for me—being a role model—because that means I cannot do anything wrong but they look up to me as an older sister and I have to hold up to that model."

Read more: Can You be a Modern Filipina and Still Choose to be a Homemaker?

"I have dedicated my life to infectious diseases research to achieve all the success over the last three decades not only for myself but also for my country and the ICDDR,B," said Dr Qadri. "Many initiatives on various diseases have been done and successfully executed at the policy level both nationally and globally. . . We did not stop and continued our work in consulting with other stakeholders, donors, sponsors, and collaborators. I hope to spend the rest of my lifetime on Infectious Disease Research and finding solutions," she continued.

Dr Edsel Salvana, director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, National Institutes of Health at the University of the Philippines praised Dr Qadri in his reaction after the presentation. He said, "The research space for these neglected tropical diseases [cholera and typhoid] as you know is quite small and funding has traditionally been limited. As these are not priorities for rich countries. Science, in general, in developing countries has not been very well-funded and I can only imagine that it must have been quite challenging to return home and compete for resources alongside the other priorities that your country's government has. . .It is quite gratifying to see how successful you have been at not only generating world-class research. . .but also building institutions that will continue to push these agendas long after our careers are done."

NOW READ

Tatler Honours Passionate Filipino Public Servants

On Being Dustin Hoffman: Dr Raul Destura Tells Us About His Breakthrough Test Kits for COVID-19

Your 'Fully Vaccinated' Status Could Be Expiring Soon, Here's Why

A resource for women to become their best selves, Front & Female celebrates trailblazers and tackles timely, provocative issues through inspiring content and events. Join the community by subscribing to our newsletter and following #frontandfemale