OUR TEAM

Pulchérie comes from the western region of Cameroon (« Bamiléké »), and is the 3rd of 8 children, mainly girls. Among her siblings, she is by far the least intelligent (or so she has always convinced herself), due to her poor academic prowess in high school. But, she quickly realized her abilities when she was determined to achieve her goals. In fact, she is persevering and has always been described as a strong woman. She ended up passing all her classes to the point of becoming the first (men and women combined) to hold a PhD degree in her entire extended family.

Dr. Matsodoum studied in Cameroon and obtained a Master’s degree in Plant Biotechnology. After being selected for a doctorate, her thesis topic, which dealt with the clean-up of hydrocarbon-polluted soils, was funded by the Schlumberger Foundation (Faculty For The Future). This grant is awarded to women from developing countries enrolled in doctoral or post-doctoral studies. Dr. Matsodoum pursued her thesis work in partnership with the University of Yaoundé I in Cameroon and the University of Strasbourg in France and defended her doctoral thesis in Biotechnologies and Environment on May 20, 2019. This day is a celebration day in her country and will remain memorable for her, especially as it marks Cameroon’s independence.

During her doctoral studies, Dr. Matsodoum’s ambition was already to contribute to the development of research professions and to work on technology transfer in her home country, Cameroon. To achieve this, she found it necessary to take an MBA-like post-doctoral course at Strasbourg’s Faculty of Economics and Management, at the end of which she obtained a position as Business Developer in a Strasbourg-based start-up spin-off from INSERM (National Institute of Health and Medical research).

Determined to tackle inequalities in the STEM fields and work towards a new vision of the socio-professional integration of women in developing African countries, and more specifically in Cameroon, Dr. Matsodoum decided to create « She STEMin Africa » in October 2022.

The differences observed between her home country and the rest of the world as a result of her many travels and external collaborations during and after her Ph.D, as well as the issues linked to the long-term involvement of women from developing countries in the STEM fields and careers, were the determining points in setting up this project.

She is convinced that Africa’s development will not happen without the deep involvement of women, who are capable of achieving much more than they are given credit for.