“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”
— a saying by the greatest Brazilian soccer player, Pele.
Dr. Tonima Islam Trisa, a remarkable Bangladeshi talent, highlights this saying once more, who is working as a Doctoral student and a Health Researcher in the most prestigious university of the world, University of Oxford. From a student of Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College to the University of Oxford, she showed that hard-work and passion never fail to send you to your deserving place. Today, YSSE welcomes Dr. Tonima Islam Trisa to share her incredible journey.
YSSE: Firstly, would you like to tell something about yourself? (Name, education, what you are doing now, your upbringing etc.).
Tonima Trisa: Hi! I am Dr. Tonima Trisa. I am currently doing my PhD at the University of Oxford. My research focuses around neurodegenerative disorders (dementia) and its relationship with mental health problems like depression. I was born and brought up in Jessore. My first school was Sacred Heart Junior High school, and I passed my SSC from Police Line Secondary School and HSC from Cantonment College, Jessore.
YSSE: From being a student from the most prestigious university in Bangladesh, University of Dhaka to going to one of the World’s best Universities, how did it all go for you? Tell us something about your journey to University of Oxford.
Tonima Trisa: My family really wanted me to be a doctor. I also grew up around the conversation that I will have to become a doctor. I liked biology more than mathematics so being a doctor looked like a better option. Unfortunately, even after trying for two consecutive years I could not secure a spot in a public medical college. Not getting a chance in a public medical college broke my confidence. However, I was lucky to study in holy family medical college, which is a great place for medical studies and lucky that my parents supported me during the tough times.
During my bachelors, I was not so career oriented. We did not have access to a lot of information like today’s students have through the internet, nor did I know becoming a researcher or scientist after medical studies is an option. It was during my medical internship that I got to know people who were working in global health as researchers, health managers etc. The field of international collaboration, communication, opportunity to travel, exercising knowledge attracted me more than just giving treatments to patients in the hospital settings.
I worked as a researcher in icddr, b, which gave me first-hand experience in health research. I then got a scholarship from the Dutch government to study my masters in the Netherlands. I did my master’s in public health.
After finishing studies, I started exploring PhD opportunities in the same subject. Oxford is one of the first universities I applied to. I feel so lucky to get the opportunity to do my PhD with full scholarship in this mighty place. Not only is it the best university in the world but also I work in an excellent department with an excellent team with a lot of learning opportunities.
YSSE: When did you start your preparation and how did you do everything?
Tonima Trisa: Everything that I ever achieved started with a simple google search. I started looking for PhD vacancies during the end of my master’s. Searching for PhDs, master’s is a long cumbersome process. But it’s great that now all information is available on the internet. So it’s not at all hard to know about the vacancies.
If you go to Oxford’s website it is very clearly written what you need to do to apply for a PhD there and what are the requirements, when is the application time and what is the process. There are also descriptions of projects, information on the researchers in the department and division. So you can read about their work too and contact them if you want to know more.
What I did was I started checking the criteria they are looking for in candidates, read about projects that they advertised on the website and noted down research projects that matched my research interests. I also noted down the contact details of professors affiliated with those projects. Since I wasn’t sure if I should apply that year as I was still finishing my masters and had a lot of doubts that they would ever respond to my email, I hesitated for a while. But just before 12 days of the deadline I gathered some courage and emailed a professor who is now my PhD supervisor.
YSSE: You have worked as a researcher in the public health department. Would you like to share something about the experience?
Tonima Trisa: Bangladesh is a country of immense possibility when it comes to health research. We have so many health problems, and there is clearly an information gap. Sadly, I do not see a lot of opportunities available to build researchers.
I studied MBBS, and in my medical curriculum the component of research was totally absent. If you have done a bachelor in a university, you should still have a chance to learn research. I got my first experience of research when I started doing courses in icddr, b and worked there as a research fellow. Since then I have worked in a number of national and international health research projects, and collaborated with a number of international organizations and universities.
YSSE: You’ve completed your MSc from KIT Royal Tropical Institute in the Netherlands. I would love to know about it.
Tonima Trisa: KIT is a global health focused institute under Vrije Universität. I received a full scholarship from the Dutch government for my course which I attended here. It was a great experience to be able to learn from the teachers, classmates who came from different parts of the world. I like the teaching style there as teachers are very friendly and there are no hierarchical barriers between teachers and students. Amsterdam is also a very exciting place to live. It is a very cosmopolitan city so you can meet people coming from all over the world. Since this was my first time studying outside of Bangladesh, I always highlight this experience
The experience of going outside my comfort zone and learning to deal with everything from grocery shopping, dealing with different cultures, studying in a completely different educational environment, making friends and networking with professionals really helped me grow.
YSSE: Who or what was the inspiration?
Tonima Trisa: I cannot name just one. There are a number of seniors in my field who are making great contributions to the field, traveling all around the world, teaching and inspiring others. They definitely inspired me too.
At first, I was attracted to this career because it seemed like this would provide me an opportunity to travel the world, meet amazing people, and I will finally have the access to hang out with the intellectuals (haha!). But when I stepped into the field, I also liked the work. This provided me a tool to exercise and communicate knowledge, make an impact in the field of health and change lives. This still inspires me to keep going.
YSSE: What was the obstacle behind your success? If so, what kind of obstacles are they? And how did you overcome them?
Tonima Trisa: I think the main obstacle I had among all the trivial obstacles during the days, was my lack of confidence in my own ability.
“I think we should always believe that we can do anything if we actually put our minds to it and keep working relentlessly towards it. We have to set some goals for ourselves with some actionable tasks. And strictly follow it. And it’s also important to have belief in yourself, it doesn’t matter if anyone else believes in you or not. It’s hard to do though! I turned to my family who has been very supportive, during my tough days. I think having a hobby that makes you happy also helps. When you incorporate a routine of doing your favorite things (like-spending time with people you love and your favorite activities that make you happy) it helps you stick to your long enduring work or study routine.”
YSSE: Whose support behind your success would you like to mention?
Tonima Trisa: So many! First and foremost, my family. I also got help and guidance from my teachers, seniors, and my colleagues. Without their support it would have been impossible to be where I am right now.
YSSE: What are your future plans?
Tonima Trisa: My first plan is to train myself as a health scientist. I would like to contribute to the field of mental health and neurodegenerative disorders. I am also working in the field of educating people as well as science communication. I now have a Facebook page and YouTube channel, where I share my journey, provide information on admission, studies and student experiences. I am also very interested to work in the field of education and empowerment of women in Bangladesh.
YSSE: What is your life motto?
Tonima Trisa: “I am a lifelong learner.”
YSSE: Lastly, what advice would you like to give to young people who want to reach a height like you in the public health area?
Tonima Trisa: “I encourage them to be curious and active. Make most of the resources they have like the internet, network of people. You should always try to explore the different areas that interest you.” If you are interested in research, you should start learning it from your bachelor. You can communicate your interest to your teacher, alumni, anyone who is in the field of your interest. Start taking short courses, internships, voluntary work opportunities, anything that provides a scope to learn, with an attitude that if not anything I will at least learn something from the experience. It’s a competitive field but very rewarding. With consistent effort, you will discover your own path.
To know more about my work;
Departmental website: https://www.ndph.ox.ac.uk/team/tonima-trisa
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonima-islam-trisa-a39448177
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Dr.tonimatrisaBD
Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_gh-Wl4O0X5DmA9TBEsqcA
“Failure is success in progress,”
-Albert Einstein once said.
Trisa Apu’s journey has depicted this saying completely. YSSE thanks Dr. Tonima for sharing directly on some important issues in her life.
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Writer,
Sheikh Prome Akther
Intern, Content Writing Department,
YSSE.