On Thursday, March 24, 2022, at 5 pm GMT, the #NSMQLiveChat conversation will spotlight Dr. Yehoda Martei, a member of the history-making Wesley Girls’ High School team that faced off Mfantsipim School in the NSMQ 1999 Grand Finale. Together with Sharon Owusu Darko and Denise Twum, Yehoda Martei represented Wesley Girls through an impressive NSMQ run, dispatching the likes of Kumasi Anglican Senior High School, Adisadel College and St Peter’s SHS en route to the final.
Although the team could not carry the day at the finale, their stellar performance in the 1999 edition won the hearts of many Ghanaians and continues to inspire the next generation of NSMQ contestants and STEM enthusiasts.
Life after “Gey Hey”
After her history-making NSMQ appearance with Wesley Girls’ High School, Yehoda gained admission to Harvard University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. In 2011, she earned her Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the Yale University School of Medicine and went on to the University of Pennsylvania for a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) from 2016 – 2018.
Career Exploits
Currently, Dr. Yehoda Martei is a Global Health Scholar and attending physician in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on evaluating and improving access to cancer medicines and treatment outcomes in breast cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as assessing the impact of access to essential medicines for cancer treatment in low- and middle-income countries, on clinical outcomes among cancer patients.
She has also worked on the WHO Steering Committee/ Union for International Cancer Control Task Team for updating the Model List of Essential Medicines for Cancer and the Steering Committee for the Medicine Patent Policy: “Feasibility of expanding the Medicines Patent Pool’s scope to include all patented essential medicines.” In October 2020, she became the Vice Chief of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity, Hematology/Oncology Division, and is focused on quantifying access to cancer medicines and their impact on treatment outcomes in Low and Middle-Income Countries.
The #NSMQLiveChat is a LIVE virtual conversation featuring some of the most notable names on the NSMQ Stage since its inception. Every fortnight on Thursdays, we spotlight and interact with the myriad of brilliant minds who have made the NSMQ the programme we all love and enjoy.
