Josephine Ukomadu of Nigeria is a life scientist, pictured here taking agronomic parameters from the cowpea. She is working on genetic diversity for the culinary traits and canning quality of Cowpea.

What excites you most about your research?

The aspect of my research that interests me most is the molecular part as I have to develop SNP markers for identification of novel genes responsible for the cooking time and good canning quality of cowpea.

What challenges have you faced?

I have been faced with the challenges of low electricity, non viability of most of my cowpea seeds and challenges with the analysis of the some of the data I have generated from my research so far.

What would you say to women and girls who might be interested in going into your area of research?

The area of molecular breeding is interested as it would help balance phenotypic and genetypic characteristics for the breeding of improved varieties of crops.