Experience report of an AvH scholar
10/05/2018Ghanya Al-Naqeb is an associated professor of Nutritional Sciences from Yemen and she is doing research at the chair of Food Chemistry of Prof. Leane Lehmann. She arrived at the University of Wuerzburg at the end of 2017 as a scholar of the Philipp Schwartz – Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung.
Professor Al-Naqeb, you arrived in Wuerzburg some month ago – could you describe your work a little bit?
I spend few months preparing for my research experiment, doing the practical part and ordering the materials needed for the main experiment, I have done the first two steps of the research and now I am in the main experiment. So I can say that I am in my way to have the scientific results for my research right now.
What is your favorite plant and why?
In developing countries and particularly in Yemen, a large segment of the population still relies on folk medicine to treat serious diseases. Herbal medicine represents one of the most important fields of traditional medicine in Yemen especially in rural areas. I have worked with few plants that have been traditionally used by our committee as a traditional medicine and my favorite plant was the Pulicaria jaubertii Gamal-Eldin (PJ) which used by Yemenis as a food additive and flavorant.
I have done research on the health benefits of the leaves of these plant in USA, in Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, North Dakota, USA, during my Fulbright fellowship in 2014 and I got some scientific knowledge regarding the anti- obesity properties of this plant. Therefore, I am continuing my research in this plant to address the safety issue of this plant.
What do you miss most, if you think about the Yemen?
Yemen is in my heart and I am always thinking about Yemen and Yemenis in these war conditions. I miss my family who are straggling under the war conditions. I miss my academic friends who are really under threat from the bad situation in Yemen and they could not get the opportunity to leave Yemen. I miss my students who I am really thinking a lot of; for example if they could finalize their master sciences.
What has been your biggest surprise about living in Germany since now?
I can say that the most surprising matter for me was the extremely kind treat from the Supervisors and the University of Würzburg, which I never got before. I was really under big stress waiting for the visa in Sudan for almost 4 months so they really give me big chance to relax and everything was organized in a perfect way.
What is your personal theory, why the world is always coming at wars at irregular intervals over and over again?
Regarding the situation in Jemen I think it is a complicated matter – many different factors are effecting the situation; the role of USA, Iran, Saudi, Arab Emirates, our bad government, Al-Hothi-Group, the political system in Yemen.
