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A big part of my PhD was about plants that are used in traditional medicine. So, I went to the communities to interact with them and learn how they used nature for health.

When Western conventional medicine and the pharmaceutical industry arrived in Cabo Verde, people still had their own system, which had been working to the point where generations have lived fairly well and remain healthy until today. African traditional medicine is the oldest health system in the world and a majority of Africans are still relying on traditional medicine as their main source of health.

The goal is to identify areas where conventional and traditional medicines can complement each other, recognizing that traditional knowledge often predates and informs scientific inquiry.

In this context, it is essential to give more visibility and value to traditional medicine because it has often been undervalued and left behind as scientific knowledge has advanced. By acknowledging and preserving traditional knowledge, we can maintain cultural diversity and ensure that valuable insights and practices are not lost.

Furthermore, recognizing the complementary strengths of conventional and traditional medicines can lead to more integrated and effective approaches. It is widely recognized that traditional knowledge has served as a valuable source of inspiration and guidance for scientific research.

Examples of the valuable contribution of traditional knowledge to modern medicine are abundant. For instance, aspirin, a widely used medication, was developed from a compound found in the bark of a tree, which has been used for centuries in traditional medicine.

Similarly, treatments for malaria have been developed from traditional knowledge of plant-based remedies.

Furthermore, recent studies have shown that the iboga root, which has been used for generations in traditional healing practices, has potential for treating addiction.

These examples highlight the importance of recognizing and preserving traditional knowledge, which can offer valuable insights and solutions to modern medical challenges. One of the primary issues that arises when traditional knowledge is brought into the academic domain is the commercialization of research findings through pharmaceutical companies or laboratories, which often fails to acknowledge the indigenous communities from which this knowledge originated.

This lack of recognition not only perpetuates the historical marginalization of traditional knowledge systems but also undermines the ethical and equitable collaboration that should be at the core of any research initiative.

Furthermore, failing to acknowledge the contributions of indigenous communities to research and innovation perpetuates a knowledge hierarchy that privileges Western scientific knowledge over other knowledge systems, which can result in biased and incomplete research outcomes.

As part of our advocacy work, we aim to ensure accountability of companies and researchers by raising awareness of the need to acknowledge and respect the role of indigenous knowledge in research discoveries.

This includes addressing the question of ownership and providing indigenous communities with appropriate recognition and compensation for their contributions.

By promoting ethical and equitable collaboration, we can create a more just and sustainable research ecosystem that values and respects diverse knowledge systems.

You have to be honest! First of all, in scientific papers, we must recognize and specify the role of local people who took part either as authors or by providing access to information, with their consent, of course. Most often, it is just mentioned that the community played a role. Even in the pictures, we don’t systematically mention the members of the community. Recognition must start with each individual. Otherwise, we take all the credit.

I mean I don't go to a community like a saviour bringing knowledge. No, I just want to share. I want to know what they know and I want to share what I know. Together, maybe we'll come up with a solution, or catalyse any already existing solution and make something bigger out of it. I have to start and finish with the community, always.

In Cabo Verde, we produce wine. We know it has special characteristics because the grapes grow in volcanic soil and at a high altitude, but this is not scientifically proven because there is little access in my country to the technology needed to study the composition of these grapes.

So, I want to help bring value to the wine by understanding what makes the flavour different, for example. In parallel, I want to study the “grape pomace”, the leftover waste from crushing grapes. At the moment, the marc is underused, with some people using it to feed animals or to fertilize the soil. In its current state, it might contain alcohol and other components that make it hard to re-use.

But I think this is “wasted waste”. The pomace is rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals. At that level, there are a lot of possibilities. One possibility is to produce a powder to add nutrients to beverages and food. Another possibility is to incorporate elements in cosmetics, like face creams or shampoo. In Fogo, we have people who make soap by hand, so that could be the beginning of a circular economy.

As I said earlier, here in my country, we don't have the facilities to make clinical and nutritional characterisations. We have to take our samples elsewhere, for instance to Portugal.

So I'll be travelling there for at least one month in order to finish all the analyses. If possible, I would like to be accompanied by an undergraduate student to help me with the downstream analysis of results and as a training experience.

Part of my grant could be used to pay for their university fees for three or six months. The publication is also going to be costly. I'm going to see what I can do. Of course, I'm being very ambitious, I have to do the utmost with this grant, but also see beyond.

I am building up an entire team for this project in Fogo Biosphere Reserve. For now, there are five of us, including myself, my former supervisor and two researchers – who also happen to be women – who will help me with the collection and analysis of samples. We also have an agro-economist who is going to study the circular economy and income generation.

The thing is, when I chose them, I didn't think of them as being women, to be honest. I know them, they are excellent researchers and they live in Fogo.

Actually, in Cabo Verde, most graduates are women now, so, I suppose that we reflect this change and it is a big change! At least, most of the women I know are great managers and good at communicating, so, we are bringing that to the table, along with our expertise. We are not more special than men because we are women. We just want to be treated the same.

Until a century or two ago, academia used just up to half of its potential – because if you are not including women, you are not exploring all possibilities. If you want to use your full potential, just give everyone the chance to prove themselves.

Of course, women face extra challenges that are rarely acknowledged. The reality is that most of the workload of a household falls on women’s shoulders in most of cases. We also have to deal with the kids, with the husband, with the house before we can be a professional. Sometimes, that is really hard. It may build resilience, but I would rather not have to be more resilient that way!

At the social level, we are now dealing with the labels of “pink or blue” professions. Becoming an engineer and a scientist should not depend on your being a woman or a man. To me, that is obvious. However, it hasn’t always been obvious that women could go and study computer science, physics or chemistry, or become a doctor. For some people, it still isn’t obvious. That's what I am trying to bring to my community and to my country.

My advice would be: reach out to me and we can discuss things! Do your career, whatever it is, but don't focus only on your country, on your surroundings, think about making yourself a professional of the world.

While you are doing that, tell yourself that knowledge has no borders. If you can lift the intellectual borders, you can lift real borders.

So, learn English, learn programming or anything that would put you out there because now it's a much more globalized world.

But, if researchers leave their country, how do you bring back the skills? How do you avoid brain drain?

Actually, that was the theme of our “Science Parliament” last year during Cabo Verde’s African Science Week, which I organized and coordinated.

Of course, people ask for loyalty in terms of returning to the country but, honestly, loyalty doesn't always fill your belly. We sometimes need to look out for ourselves, especially if we are young and full of potential and the benefits can be greater if we leave and bring back something.

Do you remember that famous sentence by US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the 1960s: “Don't ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country?” Well, I'm going to ask both questions. I know that I cannot just show up with a doctorate and expect to find a job. In a country like mine without many natural resources, we have to invest in our human resources. It is far more precious.

We need a plan. For example, in Cabo Verde, education is free until you finish high school. That is an investment by the country, funded by taxpayers. If we stop here, it is true, a person who leaves the country for higher education abroad does not necessarily come back because we wouldn't know what to do with that person.

An issue like brain drain does not lie entirely with the individual. It requires long-term political and social planning and agreement about the future of a country. If we are training doctors, we must think about what they will need in 20 years’ time.

What about your own experience, why did you come back?

People ask me that a lot. Honestly, even as I left for my studies, I wanted to be able to come back to my country - and without people questioning my decisions! I did not want this situation where it would be irrational for me to come home, but it is not that easy. As I was saying, the fact is, I came back because I was offered an opportunity here to grow.

Cabo Verde is a really small country. We have more people living outside than inside the country. The diaspora is one of the country’s main sources of income and value, but it’s much more complicated than that. I think that, deep down, everyone wants to see their country thrive. The diaspora works hard to maintain a link.

As a researcher, if I think that an international profile is a better fit for me. At the same time, I think about bringing something back to my country: investment, knowledge and so on. People are connected. If I go to work in another country, I shall always consider how I can add value to my country or how I can sponsor young students.

This is because we have to build our history. As a country, we suffer from something of an identity crisis. Cabo Verdeans were created by the Atlantic slave trade. We were not invaded in the traditional and most common sense of the word. We were created and not that long ago. The islands were uninhabited until the colonizers and slaves came and mixed with each other.

Cabo Verdeans have created this diaspora because there is a gap to be filled. Our economy cannot rely on exploiting natural resources. We have to fill a gap in international cooperation, for example, with aid. It is difficult not to be dependent on aid. We need solutions to reduce our dependence on aid in the future. At the same time, we shall probably be needing more outside help, in future, to face challenges such as climate change.

Development comes with a cost. Our common future is costing us our home. Many countries that do not have much industrial power, that do not really pollute, especially in Africa, are suffering a lot from the impact of climate change. There is a need for accountability. Countries like mine need to have leverage on the world stage – like on loss and damage at the Conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COPs) – to build the resilience that every country needs.

So, creating international networks like the diaspora brings investment, knowledge and representation. That is truly crucial.