Yasmeen Mohamed Ahmed Elkony: From Egypt to CFM, with Women for Africa and Gipuzkoa Coopera
The foundation Women for Africa, launches the initiative Ellas Investigan devoted to senior researchers yearly, aimed at building networks between women researchers from African countries, which often have less presence in the international scientific community, offering the opportunity to share their expertise and participate of the research in European countries.
CFM has been part of the program since its very beginning and, over the last seven years this has materialized in seven collaborations, thanks to the Gipuzkoa Coopera initiative of Gipuzkoa´s Provincial Council that covers the grants to allow women researchers from Africa to join a research team in our centre.
Yasmeen Mohamed Ahmed Elkony
Yasmeen Mohamed Ahmed Elkony, holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the faculty of science Alexandria University, and is a researcher at Materials Science Department, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University. She was awarded one of these grants within the program “Ellas Investigan” allowing her to join the “Quantum Beams & Computation for Sustainable Materials” group at CFM for over 6 months.
We here share the farewell interview we had with her, just before she left CFM, together with the view of Felix Fernandez, Ikerbasque professor at CFM and host of Yasmeen at CFM.
Thanks Yasmeen for your work, your kindness and your generosity!
Yasmeen, How would you describe your career path as a woman researcher? Why did you study chemistry?
My career path as a woman researcher has been smooth, largely thanks to the support of my supervisor in Egypt, Prof. Shaker Ebrahim. However, I have always dreamed of collaborating internationally, especially with researchers in Spain, to exchange knowledge and gain experience using advanced facilities. Women for Africa has fulfilled that dream for me.
I’ve loved chemistry since I was a child, even though I didn’t fully understand many concepts at the time. That curiosity motivated me to study chemistry in-depth, along with physics, to challenge myself and grow academically. Being a woman didn’t make my career particularly difficult, but traveling alone was a challenge due to my family’s initial concerns. Over time, after seeing my experience abroad, they realized how safe and beneficial it was.
Tell us a little bit about your research field and your work at CFM.
My research focuses on fabricating innovative conducting or thermosensitive polymers and combining them with various materials, such as carbon materials, quantum dots, and devices like sensors and supercapacitors. Another key aspect of my work involves developing reverse osmosis cellulose membranes for water desalination. These projects are highly interdisciplinary and relevant to diverse energy-related applications.
In recent years, my research has primarily revolved around:
- Preparing and characterizing polymers, such as polyamides and conducting polymers.
- Applying conducting polymers in biosensors.
- Developing grafted organic cellulose acetate and crosslinked reverse osmosis membranes for water desalination.
- Synthesizing quantum dots, metal oxides, graphene oxide, and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) like ZIF-8 for optical and electronic applications.
At CFM, and hopefully in the future, I´ve been working with Prof. Felix Fernandez Alonso. Our research involves synthesizing novel composites of conducting polymers, such as polyazulene, and MOFs like ZIF-8, which form a 3D porous network. We are studying their physical and chemical properties using techniques such as DSC, TGA, XRD, HRTEM, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis, and neutron techniques.
What about your experience with the group? Did Donostia treat you well?
I cannot express enough gratitude toward my research group. Everyone was incredibly kind and supportive, making my stay both productive and enjoyable. Prof. Felix Fernandez treated me like family, offering guidance and access to all the resources I needed. My colleagues and friends were always willing to help, whether it was measuring samples or discussing ideas.
The administrative team at CFM and everyone in Donostia treated me with kindness and made my experience seamless.
As for San Sebastián, it is a magical city—beautiful, welcoming, and vibrant. It felt like my second home, and I hope to return one day.
What are your plans for the short-term future?
I hope to continue the research I started in Donostia and work on applying the materials I’ve developed to polymer technologies in Egypt, particularly in energy storage. I also plan to publish my research articles and look for another postdoctoral opportunity to further establish myself as a global researcher.
How do you feel about this experience?
This experience has deepened my passion for science and inspired me to continue discovering novel materials and nanocomposites for innovative applications. It was a wonderful journey with incredible people who supported me in every way.
How did you first hear of the Women for Africa program? Would you recommend it to a colleague?
I first heard about the Women for Africa program through a friend in Egypt. I would absolutely recommend it! The program offers a highly qualified team, excellent facilities, and an environment that encourages creativity and growth. It is an invaluable opportunity for any researcher looking to expand their horizons.
Felix, how would you describe your experience in hosting Yasmeen at your research group?
It has been an immense pleasure and joy for all of us here to host Yasmeen in the group over the past six months – we would have liked it to last longer!
What would you highlight from such a program?
It was the CFM Projects Office who alerted us of this opportunity in the first instance, and last year we were in a position to give it a go – I am also taking the opportunity to thank the PO, they are doing a great job making this program happen at the CFM. One year on, I am quite impressed, Woman for Africa (WFA) represents a very effective way of connecting seemingly disparate groups of people with common as well as complementary research interests. As testament to the above, we will be hosting another WFA researcher in 2025 – and Yasmeen has been kind enough to share her experience with the newcomer – already a three-way connection across Africa and Donosti !
Will you continue collaborating in the research path with Yasmeen?
Absolutely! Yasmeen´s stay with us in Donosti is just the beginning of a much-longer road, which WFA has catalysed and made it happen.