Welcome to Episode 114 of The Afghanistan Project, where wecover all topics related to two decades of war in Afghanistan, and the fallout of our Afghanistan withdrawal.
Today, my guest is Dr. Amna Mehmood, a molecular biologist who has turned her skills to helping Afghans in their homeland and the diaspora. Dr. Mehmood recently conducted a survey of the impact of the Taliban’s internet ban, and she shares herimportant findings in this episode.
Dr. Mehmood also talks about how hard she fought for her own education as a refugee in Pakistan during childhood and particularly her teen years.
About Dr. Amna Mehmood:
Dr. Amna Mehmood is a molecular biologist and senior scientist (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) in Germany.
She received her Master’s and PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Jacobs University Bremen as a DAAD scholar and later studied Cancer Genomics and Immuno-Oncology at Harvard Medical School.
After completing her PhD, Dr. Mehmood returned to Afghanistan to help establish the country’s National Reference Laboratories Network, working to strengthenmolecular diagnostics and research capacity on a national level.
But behind her impressive scientific career is an extraordinary personal journey.
As a young girl fleeing war in Afghanistan and growing up as a refugee in Pakistan, Amna’s path was marked by instability, changing schools, and limited resources; often with little or no access to a laboratory.
Yet her determination and love for science never faded. From those humble beginnings, she went on to help establish national molecular diagnostic laboratories in Afghanistan, contributing to her country’s medical and research capacity during some of its most challenging years. Yet she transformed those challenges into purpose and leadership.
Today, she continues her scientific work in Germany while leading the Resilient Afghan Diaspora Initiatives, a platform she founded to give voice to those silenced by conflict and to share the stories of Afghan resilience, strength, and hope across generations
About the host:
Beth Bailey worked in support of Afghanistan operations as acivilian intelligence analyst for the Department of the Army between 2010 and 2013. She is a freelance contributor to Fox News Digital and the Washington Examiner.
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