From Somalia to Canada: A journey of resilience and determination

Some members of Dr. Fadumo Isse’s family like to affectionately call her “stubborn.” 

That’s because she has pursued higher education with a laser focus since she was a little girl growing up in Somalia. 

Growing up in a large family , she has followed that passion first to Jordan and then to the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Now Isse has graduated with her PhD from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and is starting work as a postdoctoral fellow, with her sights set on a future doing research that makes a difference for human health. 

“They don’t mean stubborn in a bad way,” Isse says. “It’s more like they recognize that I am going to get educated no matter what, and circumstances will not deter me.

“Maybe ‘determined’ is more appropriate.”

Call it what you will, Isse’s intelligence and strength of character have allowed her to jump through innumerable personal and academic hoops, winning scholarships every step of the way.

“Fadumo is an exceptionally motivated, independent and detail-oriented researcher,” says her PhD and postdoctoral supervisor Dr. Ayman El-Kadi, professor and associate dean of research for pharmacy. “She combines strong critical thinking with outstanding productivity, producing an impressive number of publications and presentations during her graduate training.”

More than that, Isse is always willing to share her hard-won knowledge with others, volunteering to help other international students, taking on a leadership role among pharmacy students or encouraging her younger siblings back home. 

“I always tell them, ‘You can do it. Nothing is impossible. You just have to have the passion to continue,’” she says. “I’m glad that I am the person who’s motivating them.”

Following a dream

Isse didn’t have hobbies as a child. She just loved to study. It was her father who encouraged her to pursue that dream.

“He was always the big motivator in my life to be an educated person,” she says of her dad, who passed away 10 years ago. “He encouraged me to complete my high school, go to university and potentially continue to graduate studies.” 

He was cheering her on when she won a scholarship to enterJordan University of Science and Technology. It meant travelling alone to the other side of the continent, more than 5,000 miles from home. 

She knew she wanted to choose a field of study that would have human impact. When she got into the doctor of pharmacy program, a six-year certificate, she felt grateful. 

She was just 18, living on her own for the first time. She found herself in a new country, learning a new language and finding her way as a scholar.

“I figured out this is my field. I loved it. It is wonderful when you start something and then you realize, ‘Wow, I have huge passion in this area.’ That’s how it played out for me.” 

She found she was fascinated by studying drugs at a molecular level to figure out how they work to treat disease and improve human health. 

Her next move took her even farther from home, 10,000 kilometres away from the Middle East to the Canada, thanks to a scholarship from the University of Alberta and assistance from World University Service of Canada (WUSC). 

She arrived in late summer.

“Volunteers helped us to get educated about winter and how to dress and prepare us, but still we were in shock,” she recalls. “The first winter was the hardest. Then you get familiar with the next winter and now we are OK. But everything is different — how to get groceries, how to commute from your place.” 

A passion for research

Isse admits she got lonely at times, despite all of the support. It was focusing on her science that got her through. In 2019, she started her master’s under the supervision of Dr. Sherif Mahmoud, associate professor and associate dean academic for pharmacy, as well as an adjunct with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. 

He put her to work studying nimodipine, the standard treatment given for hemorrhagic stroke patients. 

“I was investigating how we can optimize the delivery of that drug so the patients can have better outcomes,” she explains. 

“That’s when I confirmed my passion for research,” Isse remembers. “I loved figuring out unknown questions about my project. I loved generating data and translating it and linking it to improving care for real-world patients in critical care.”

She was hooked, and signed on in 2021 to start her PhD under El-Kadi, whose lab focuses on how lipid metabolism affects the cardiovascular system. 

“A huge part of my thesis was about developing analytical techniques or assays that can measure lipid metabolites,” Isse notes. “I am so proud of the techniques that I developed to quantify them and help us understand the role of these metabolites in cardiovascular disease.” 

In recently published research, the team revealed a way to flip a genetic switch to tell the heart to stay healthy and flexible, even when blood pressure is dangerously high.

Isse won the President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction, as well as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral and the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship for her doctoral work. 

She has now won both a CIHR Postdoctoral Research Award and an Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship, which will allow her to continue her work in El-Kadi’s lab for the next three years. She will focus on women’s heart health.

“When women start to go into menopause, they lose the cardioprotective effect of estrogen, so they are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease,” Isse explains. “I am investigating the role of menopause in cardiac hypertrophy, a thickening of the heart muscle.”

“Fadumo’s work on sex-specific cardiovascular disease mechanisms and innovative analytical methods has already made important contributions to the field,” says El-Kadi. “Combined with her leadership and resilience, these experiences position her for an outstanding career as a pharmacy researcher.”

A beautiful journey

Isse aims to one day earn a university faculty position of her own so she can continue her career in research. 

She loves the daily routine of life in the lab, where she can put her head down and focus on the work. She says during her time as a grad student, she learned as much from the setbacks as the successes. That’s when teamwork carries her through. 

“Everybody’s working independently, but as researchers, we are also working as a team,” she says, explaining that senior students train the junior students, mentoring each other when they hit a snag. 

“It’s a beautiful journey that teaches you resilience, patience and adaptability,” she says. “It’s not a smooth process, but it’s so rewarding as a person. I know I now have the critical thinking to take every problem, break it into pieces and solve it eventually.”

During her time as a student, Isse found many ways to give back to her newfound community, including volunteering as a welcoming assistant for newcomers through the U of A’s International Student and Visitor Services, acting as a vice-president for the Pharmacy Graduate Student Association and helping Edmonton’s Islamic Family and Social Services Association during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“She is collaborative, compassionate and committed to mentorship and community service, making her a valued member of both the lab and the broader university community,” says El-Kadi.

In the 15 years since she left Somalia to study abroad, Isse has been home just once to visit her family.

Even though Isse has formed a new identity as an international scholar, she says she still misses the traditions and language of home. She hopes to bring her mother to Canada as a visitor soon. 

Most of her family members live in Somalia, which is nine hours ahead of Edmonton time. She speaks with her mom and her sisters every day. 

She knows her father would have been happy to see her reach this stage in her dream. She tells her mom about every scientific hurdle and success along the way.

“She may not really understand how I live here, but she tells me, ‘I pray for you and I’m so proud of you,’” Isse says. “That’s her way of expressing love, by supporting me and praying for me.”