Amie Fornah Sankoh, a Sierra Leone-born scientist who lost her hearing at about three years old, has become the first deaf Black woman to earn a doctorate in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics field in the United States, and possibly worldwide.
Fornah received her PhD in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on May 20, 2023.
Her achievement marks a remarkable turnaround from a childhood in Sierra Leone, where she struggled in school because of her hearing loss. She was later sent to the United States, where she was adopted by a family friend and learned American Sign Language, according to Chemistry World.
“My father sent me to live with his best friend in America, who adopted me,” she said. “Doctors in the US could not cure my deafness, but I was able to join the deaf community where I learned American Sign Language [ASL] over the next few years.”
Fornah said mathematics became her strongest subject because of its visual nature.
