Lessons For Early Career Researchers - An Interview With Yusuf Hassan Wada

Yusuf Hassan Wada is a registered and licensed pharmacist in Nigeria with experience in research, policy, and public health development. Proficient in program support, policy analysis, advocacy, solid research abilities, and working with culturally diverse teams and communities. Envisioning a long-term career with an interest in health policy, financing, advocacy, public health promotion, and system strengthening. He has published over 20 papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals, including The Lancet, PLOS ONE, PLOS NTDs, BMC Public Health, and Public Health in Practice, among others, and presented his research outputs at various local and international conferences. He has served as rapporteur for the World AIDS Conference (2022) and a Fellow, Youth Ambassador, and Change Maker for the International AIDS Society (IAS). He's currently serving as a Community Advisory Board of Pediatric Adolescent Virus Elimination (John Hopkins University and AVAC) towards finding an HIV Cure for children and Representing PAVE as a Co-Chair at the National Institutes of Health MDC Cross-CAB. He's an alumnus of Lagos Business School, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Towards an HIV Cure Academy.

Let's delve into Yusuf Hassan Wada's journey with Haruna Abdulmajid, Content Writer from MedBound Times and Pharmacist Intern Trainee at Federal Medical Centre, Bida, Nigeria.

Haruna: Earlier this year you posted on your LinkedIn feed how you ended the previous year with an international fellowship, being a community advisory board member at Johns Hopkins & the National Institutes of Health MDC representative, winning four international scholarships award, and publishing seven papers in which two of the abstracts were presented. That was a stellar year you got. I must commend you. But at the end of the post, you wrote " We keep Pushing". I'm curious, after all these achievements. How do you keep the drive alive?

Yusuf: I fully work with Society for Family Health, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Nigeria, while the others are voluntarily global/international opportunities to which I contribute towards their strategic goal. Most are fellowships and international board activities which don’t require my daily attention. I serve on Community Advisory Board (CAB) for the Pediatric Adolescent Virus Elimination (PAVE), which is a Collaboratory towards an HIV cure for pediatrics led by Johns Hopkins University, and represent the Collaboratory as a Co-Chair of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Martin Delaney Collaboratory Cross-CAB. Last year, I won four international scholarship awards; International AIDS Society to attend the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada as a Rapporteur and Fellow which I was the youngest, the IAS Towards an HIV Academy as an HIV Cure Fellow in South Africa, the HIV Persistence Workshop in United State as a Co-Chair of the United States National Institutes Health (NIH) Martin Delaney Collaboratory for HIV Cure in Miami and also the Prestigious Conference for Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections (CROI). I also got a virtual scholarship award to present some research outputs at some conferences like the HIV Drug Therapy Conference Glasgow 2022, and the World Congress on Pain (IASP 2022) where I present our research on analgesic utilization patterns and cost of managing children with sickle cell disease in Nigeria amongst others. I wrote “we keep pushing” because I always feel achieving something should also be a renewing phase to push as much as possible. So every day, the goal is to keep pushing.

Haruna: You're an Executive Assistant at the Society for Family Health, a community advisory board member at John Hopkins, and a cross-community advisory board co-chair with the National Institutes of Health. How do you juggle the responsibilities of these roles and find time to work on your personal goals? 

Yusuf: Establishing a work-life balance is so essential that means implementing as many of these factors as possible in both areas without causing damage elsewhere. I try as much to schedule all I must do for the day and follow it religiously. I also find time to do other things during the weekends. I love sleeping and reading, so I do a lot of it during the weekends. 

Haruna: To have published over 20 papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals a few years post-graduation is highly commendable. How were you able to achieve that? 

Yusuf: Passion, consistency, and quality were my watchwords. My passion came with an effort to learn. I understand that failure or rejection is normal, but one needs to be consistent in pushing. I could have published more than those numbers, but I wanted to get more quality works from bigger reputable journals. Most of my papers have been published in Scopus-indexed journals including the world-leading “The Lancet”, BMC Public Health, PLOS One, PLOS NTDs, PLOS Global Public Health, and Public Health in Practice amongst others. I have also reviewed many of these journals.

Haruna: What spurred you to join the field of public health research? 

Yusuf: Public health, especially the research aspect, satisfies my curiosity to explore the unknown and is essential to public policy and practice. At its best, leads to changes in policy that make everyone’s life better. I started my work in hospital practice and felt I needed to make more impact on many lives beyond my immediate community too. Public health research alone cannot shape policy; policy is also influenced by politics, opinions, deeply held beliefs, and advocacy. Policy needs to be made based on the best possible information. So, I can help provide that. The scientific process provides policymakers with that for implementation. And when you like it, you fall in love with it. So, I love how you collect data and evidence at any given moment, write opinions based on those facts, advocate, and make influence and decisions out of necessity that you must make.

Haruna: Your iconic quote at the International AIDS Society depicts that the voices of young people in the global south have been ignored and muted from the conversations around HIV and AIDS. How do we amplify the voices of the young in these conversations? 

Yusuf: I have been part of the advocacy journey and groups for the past five years. But I have noticed that young voices are neglected, and they need to be in the driving seat not at the back. Youth voices are important in every process of the HIV response, and this will help support young people to have a positive impact, be meaningfully engaged, and makes changes in their communities. The iconic quotes have made a lot of impact and were on display in the world's largest AIDS conference and other influential platforms that have led to much engagement. So, it was a powerful advocacy tool after all.

Haruna: What are your professional aspirations for the future? 

Yusuf: The COVID-19 pandemic had a drastic impact on the whole world, leading to crises among government leaders, financial turmoil for countries, detrimental effects on public health, and even diplomatic issues between nations. Science is rigorous and begins by defining critical questions for pursuit. And it never ends; one set of questions generally leads to the proposition of another set of questions.

Haruna: Did you envision your current career trajectory before graduation from Pharmacy school? 

Yusuf: The only thing I had an idea was that hospital practice wasn’t the right place for me. I challenged myself to go into the search for places which I’d had more impact. I only had an idea that I would be in an environment that could always welcome new questions, debates, and challenges. So, I got into the public health space seamlessly without even applying for it. I am enjoying what I do and it’s a good experience so far.

Haruna: Traveling and reading are part of your hobbies. Which book had a great impact on your life, and where was your favorite country of visitation?

Yusuf: I love traveling and reading so much. Although I have reduced reading with some commitment these days, books that had a great impact on my life are Yuval Harari’s books which are majorly on Tech, Public Policy & the Future of Work. The three series of the 21 Lessons for the 21^st Century, Sapiens and Homo Deus. I also love reading memoirs’ so much, as I love to get firsthand experience of what people have gone through, the likes of The World as it is and After the Fall written by Ben Rhodes and other national figures' memoirs in Nigeria.

Haruna: What advice do you have for early career researchers?

Yusuf: Part of that process of learning involves getting in your way, being passionate, hardworking, and patient, and selling your personal story! Many people want to stretch their muscles and try to be something that they’re not naturally. So, networking is also essential and doesn’t always come naturally to everyone, but there were many times in my career path when I received help, recommendation, and guidance by either reaching out to mentors or someone I may have recently become acquainted with at a conference or workshop. Young people need to be patient a bit and when you are in a position to mentor others who are just starting their career, make sure to pay it forward.

(HN)