In her 30s, Ijeoma Uchegbu was living in a homeless shelter with her three children. Now she’s a pioneering scientist.
Born in the UK, she was fostered by a white family for the first years of her life. Her parents had come to London from Nigeria in the 1960s to go to university.
“I couldn’t see myself as a professional person at all because I didn’t look around and see anyone that was like me.”
By the time her dad came to collect her, Ijeoma’s parents had divorced. She only met her birth mum once – and she died soon afterwards. Ijeoma’s dad moved her back to Nigeria. The culture shock was massive. She took refuge in studying and fell in love with science.
“Nigeria was the best thing that ever happened to me… because it completely reset my ambition and my aspiration.”
Ijeoma went to university at 16 and soon earned a master’s degree. She got married and had three children but the marriage didn’t work out. Fired up to study and succeed, she decided to return to the UK, desperate to do a PhD.
Ijeoma arrived back in the UK with three kids, no plan, no coats, in the middle of winter. Soon, she was homeless. It was her lowest point, but she doesn’t recall ever regretting the decision she made.
Soon she found herself work in lab in a research position, studying nanoparticles. It didn’t pay much but it was a new, exciting field.
“I thought, I’ve made this journey, I’ve sacrificed a lot, it has to be worth my while.”
Today Ijeoma owns her own company working in nanomedicine. She’s president of a Cambridge University college, champions racial equality and has received a damehood for her work.
“If you follow your passion and do what really interests you, you’ll be okay.”
🎧 Click the link in our bio to hear Professor Dame Ijeoma tell her story.
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