Nigerian science writer, Abdullahi Tsanni has been named along with three others for the four early-career science journalism fellowship by The Open Notebook, (TON).
The other fellows are Pedro Márquez-Zacarías, a PhD candidate in quantitative biosciences at Georgia Tech, in Atlanta, María Paula Rubiano A., Colombian freelance science journalist and Carolyn Wilke, Chicago-based freelance journalist.
Supported by a generous grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the fellows will each spend eight months from January 2020 working with individual mentors and the TON editorial team to report and write articles on the craft of science journalism.
TON is a non-profit organization that provides tools and resources to help science, environmental, and health journalists at all experience levels sharpen their skills.
Based in Abuja, Abdullahi has reported on science, health, agriculture, and biotechnology issues in Nigeria for publications including Nature, AllAfrica, Cornell Alliance for Science, Nigeria Health Watch, and African Newspage, among others.
He has interviewed top scientists across sub-Saharan Africa, detailing stories about their research, workspace, and scientific enterprise on the continent.
His story on how rancorous debates about genetically modified organisms affect public sentiments in Nigeria won the 2019 Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa Science Media Award in the print/online category.
He works as a volunteer with Science Communication Hub Nigeria and African Science Literacy Network, helping with communications and providing input on media partnerships.
He holds a degree in biochemistry and is a prospective master’s student in science communication at Imperial College London.
In his tweet through @abdultsanni on his selection, Abudullahi wrote “I can’t believe I got this fellowship—but I’ve got no doubts that I’ll pour my heart into it. What a beautiful way to end 2020! Alhamdulilah…”
“ I will be learning the craft of science journalism. I’m looking forward to this great learning experience and journey to believing in science journalism. Deeply grateful to my stellar friend and mentor, Dr. @amymaxmen “
