Friday June 19, 2026
From Somalia to Edmonton, Dr. Fadumo Isse has carried a single-minded drive for education across continents — and that persistence has now carried her to a PhD from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She is now moving into postdoctoral research on women’s heart health. (Photo: Alex Pugliese)
Edmonton, Canada (AX) — Somali-born researcher Dr. Fadumo Isse has earned a PhD from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and is starting postdoctoral work centered on women’s heart health.
Isse, who spent her childhood in Somalia before studying in Jordan and later Canada, said her family has long teased her affectionately for being “stubborn” about school.
“They don’t mean stubborn in a bad way,” Isse said. “It’s more like they recognize that I am going to get educated no matter what, and circumstances will not deter me.”
She added: “Maybe ‘determined’ is more appropriate.”
That resolve has shaped a path that began in Somalia, continued at Jordan University of Science and Technology, where she studied pharmacy, and later brought her to Edmonton, where she completed graduate work in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Alberta.
Her PhD and postdoctoral supervisor, Dr. Ayman El-Kadi, said Isse stood out as a highly driven and self-directed researcher.
“She combines strong critical thinking with outstanding productivity, producing an impressive number of publications and presentations during her graduate training,” said El-Kadi, a professor and associate dean of research in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Isse said one of her strongest supporters was her father, who died 10 years ago. He encouraged her to finish high school, go to university and pursue advanced study.
“He was always the big motivator in my life to be an educated person,” she said.
At 18, Isse left Somalia on a scholarship to attend Jordan University of Science and Technology, more than 5,000 miles from home. She entered a six-year doctor of pharmacy program and soon discovered a deep interest in how medicines function at the molecular level.
“I figured out this is my field. I loved it. It is wonderful when you start something and then you realize, ‘Wow, I have huge passion in this area.’ That’s how it played out for me.”
Her next chapter took her to Canada with assistance from a University of Alberta scholarship and the World University Service of Canada. Arriving in Edmonton in late summer, she quickly had to adjust to a new country, a new language, unfamiliar weather and a different academic system.
“Volunteers helped us to get educated about winter and how to dress and prepare us, but still we were in shock,” she recalls. “The first winter was the hardest. Then you get familiar with the next winter and now we are OK. But everything is different — how to get groceries, how to commute from your place.”
Isse began her master’s degree in 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Sherif Mahmoud, associate professor and associate dean academic for pharmacy, as well as an adjunct with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
(Photo: Alex Pugliese)
Her work focused on nimodipine, the standard treatment for hemorrhagic stroke patients.
“I was investigating how we can optimize the delivery of that drug so the patients can have better outcomes,” she said.
The project, she said, confirmed that research was where she belonged.
“That’s when I confirmed my passion for research,” Isse remembers. “I loved figuring out unknown questions about my project. I loved generating data and translating it and linking it to improving care for real-world patients in critical care.”
In 2021, she moved into a PhD program under El-Kadi, whose lab examines how lipid metabolism influences the cardiovascular system.
Her doctoral work centered on building analytical techniques to measure lipid metabolites and better understand how they contribute to cardiovascular disease.
“A huge part of my thesis was about developing analytical techniques or assays that can measure lipid metabolites,” Isse notes. “I am so proud of the techniques that I developed to quantify them and help us understand the role of these metabolites in cardiovascular disease.”
Her team recently published research identifying a way to activate a genetic pathway that helps the heart stay healthy and flexible even under dangerously high blood pressure.
During her doctoral studies, Isse received several honors, including the President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship, Doctoral and the Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship.
She has also been awarded a CIHR Postdoctoral Research Award and an Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship, which will allow her to continue working in El-Kadi’s lab for the next three years.
Her postdoctoral research will examine women’s heart health, with a focus on menopause and its role in cardiac hypertrophy, the thickening of the heart muscle.
“When women start to go into menopause, they lose the cardioprotective effect of estrogen, so they are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease,” Isse said.
El-Kadi said her work on sex-specific cardiovascular disease mechanisms and analytical methods has already advanced the field in meaningful ways.
“Combined with her leadership and resilience, these experiences position her for an outstanding career as a pharmacy researcher,” he said.
Looking ahead, Isse hopes to become a university faculty member and remain in research.
She said graduate school sharpened her resilience, patience and adaptability, while teaching her how to break complex problems into manageable parts.
“It’s a beautiful journey that teaches you resilience, patience and adaptability,” she says. “It’s not a smooth process, but it’s so rewarding as a person. I know I now have the critical thinking to take every problem, break it into pieces and solve it eventually.”
Outside the lab, Isse has volunteered with the University of Alberta’s International Student and Visitor Services, served as vice-president of the Pharmacy Graduate Student Association and assisted Edmonton’s Islamic Family and Social Services Association during the COVID-19 pandemic.
El-Kadi said she brings collaboration, compassion and a strong commitment to mentorship and community service.
Isse said she often urges younger siblings and other Somali students not to give up on their studies.
“I always tell them, ‘You can do it. Nothing is impossible. You just have to have the passion to continue,’” she said.
In the 15 years since she left Somalia to study abroad, Isse has returned home only once. Most of her family still lives in Somalia, and she speaks with her mother and sisters every day despite the nine-hour time difference.
She said she misses Somali traditions and language and hopes to bring her mother to Canada for a visit.
“She may not really understand how I live here, but she tells me, ‘I pray for you and I’m so proud of you,’” Isse said. “That’s her way of expressing love, by supporting me and praying for me.”
