Across Africa, breast cancer continues to claim lives not because it cannot be treated, but because it is often detected too late. At the heart of this challenge is a deeper problem: most breast cancer risk prediction tools were not designed with African women in mind.

Chioma, a computational biologist working at the intersection of computer science and genetics, is tackling this gap head-on. Her research focuses on developing tools and models tailored to African populations, aiming to make precision medicine more inclusive and effective.

Her work has not gone unnoticed. Chioma was recently named one of 30 recipients of the 2025 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Young Talents Sub-Saharan Africa Award, which honors exceptional young scientists making transformative contributions to science across the region. The announcement was made in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 11 December, placing her among a distinguished cohort of innovators driving change in science and healthcare.

In this interview with Efosa Taiwo, Chioma shares insights on her research, the challenges African women in STEM face, her efforts to mentor the next generation, and what the global healthcare community must do differently to truly serve diverse populations.

Early breast cancer risk prediction for African women. Can you tell us more about the problem your research is trying to solve?

So now imagine two women walk into a clinic. One gets the right test because the tool understands her body, and the other doesn’t because the tool was not designed for people like her. This is the reality of many African women today. Most breast cancer prediction tools were not built for African women, and African women face the highest breast cancer mortality rates globally. This delay is costing lives daily.

So my research focuses on building a tool that understands the unique genetic patterns in African genomes so that doctors can catch this disease early and save more lives.

That’s quite interesting. How do you envision your work influencing healthcare outcomes in Africa, especially for communities that have been underrepresented in genetic studies?

Okay, so precision medicine efforts globally have advanced thanks to technology. We now have risk prediction tools, mostly computational tools, that detect patterns in genes—some stubborn patterns in the genes that make cancer rates go crazy.

Thanks to technology, someone can walk into a clinic, do tests, and know their risk of getting a specific disease five years from now, and that’s fascinating.

But for underrepresented regions like Africa, even if these tools arrive and adoption is increasing, if they are still designed without us in mind, we will continue to be left out of precision medicine efforts. That is not good because African genomes hold the largest diversity in the world, and there is no genomic discovery without genomic diversity.

If precision medicine efforts are properly applied in the context of breast cancer, more women will be diagnosed early, treated early, and survival rates will be higher. This will be a very good thing for our communities.

As a woman in science, particularly in computer science and genetics, what challenges have you faced in pursuing this field, and how have you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges I have faced is access—access to funding, access to opportunities, and sometimes access to visibility.

In this part of the world, doing a course like mine, bioinformatics, comes with limited opportunities for training in digital computational tools. I am very grateful to be one of the CApIC-ACE students. They provided the opportunity for me to do my doctoral studies and sponsored my school fees.

Then there is visibility. As a woman, especially an African woman, you often have to prove yourself twice to be seen. I have learned to balance these expectations with the demands of my scientific work. Every challenge has made me more resilient, more focused, and more determined to open doors for those coming after me.

You mentioned mentoring upcoming talents while reading your profile. How important is it for you to inspire the next generation of African women in STEM, and what initiatives have you started or hope to start?

When I first started in my field in 2021, I came from a pure wet lab background. As a biochemistry student, I was always in the lab, mixing chemicals and working on reactions.

When I transitioned into computer science, I struggled a lot with coding and programming skills, which are very crucial in my field. But with the help of mentors—men and women alike—I was able to navigate these challenges. They helped me avoid mistakes that could have set me back.

That is why mentoring is very important to me, and it is not something I plan to do in the future—I have already started. I currently serve as the president of the International Society of Computational Biology (ISCB) Regional Student Group Nigeria.

We mentor students and early-career researchers, host webinars and workshops, and equip them with essential skills. I also mentor contributors on Outreachy, an international internship platform that provides remote opportunities and funding for people from underrepresented regions.

In addition, I use my LinkedIn platform to support training initiatives, especially for young women in computational biology. It is important to equip young people so that when opportunities come, they can be in those rooms and perform well.

Being recognized with the Young Talent Award is a major milestone. What does this award mean to you personally, and how will it shape your work?

This award represents a very significant milestone in my career as a woman in science. When I got the call a few months ago that I was one of the 30 laureates, it was unbelievable. I was so excited that I hung up the call, and they had to call me back to ask if there was a problem.

This award provides funding, visibility, and training. It is not just an award for me personally—it shows that the work I am doing is impactful and being recognized. This is an investment not just in me, but in the future of science on the African continent.

Looking ahead, what is your ultimate goal for your research in precision medicine, and how do you hope it will change global healthcare for diverse populations?

I have two major goals. The first is to complete my PhD and publish my work, which represents collaborative efforts to address long-standing public health challenges.

I hope these publications influence how prediction tools are designed and integrated into clinical systems. While refinements are still needed before full clinical adoption, I believe my work will be a key contribution to the movement.

My second goal is community-building. I am currently working on creating low-cost digital hubs for underrepresented people, especially women, in digital genomics. These hubs will focus on affordable data access, scholarships, free training, and opportunities to make digital genomics more accessible in our part of the world.