Rashidatu Abdulazeez

Rashidatu Abdulazeez is an Academic staff with the Department of Zoology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where she has pioneered the establishment of a Drosophila and Neurogenetics laboratory. Her PhD research focuses on the genetic diversities of Drosophila and its parasites in Nigeria with the aim of understanding how the environment impacts the biology and ecology of a host-parasite interaction. Having started her education at a tender age, she has always been among the 1% best all through her classes and has won several awards as best student upto her undergraduate days. She is always passionate in giving her best in all she does including being the best volunteer at the 2019 Biology JAMB tutoring that was organized by the Abdullahi Muhammad Public Library, A.B.U. Zaria. She has equally held several positions right from her early days in school, from class prefect to a project coordinator in a research institute and currently being the pioneer Manager of A.B.U Drosophila lab situated in her department. She is the founder of droso4Nigeria, a project dedicated to using the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) in solving some of the problems encountered in our biomedical researches and in the teaching and learning of biology. She is currently establishing the Nigerian strain of Drosophila melanogaster as her means of contributing to the development of biomedical sciences in Nigeria. Rashidatu, born and bred in Zaria, is a recipient of several international and local fellowship awards including a visiting researcher to the Manchester Fly Facility; University of Manchester, UK, 2019; African Society for Drosophila Researchers, 2019; DrosAfrica, 2017, Society of Neuroscientist of Africa, 2017; TReNDinAfrica, 2016.

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