KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 12, 2025 \u2013 Doris Keziah Ndassi\u2019s first steps toward a career in medicine may have begun with her grandmother, Lydia Mbianda, lying on the living room floor of their family home in Bamenda, Cameroon. Burdened by severe leg and back pain, she would urge her great-grandchildren to step on her back, hoping for relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI had always been told I had a big heart and felt deeply,” says Ndassi. “As a child, I naturally gravitated toward helping others\u2014whether it was family, friends, or anyone in pain. Seeing my Granny\u2019s struggles only strengthened that instinct. More than anything, I wanted to ease her stress, lessen her worries, and give her the comfort she truly deserved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ndassi will take another step toward her goal as she crosses the stage during the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences commencement ceremony on May 16, earning her master\u2019s degree in medical physics. This fall, she will begin her next journey at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she will pursue her Ph.D. in medical physics\u2014a discipline that applies physics to medical radiation treatments, devices, and technologies, playing a critical role in diagnosing and treating patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat I love about medical physics is its immense potential in advancing cancer treatment,\u201d she says. \u201cMy ultimate goal is to contribute to finding a universal cure for all types of cancer. Medical physics allows me to explore various approaches and innovative techniques to achieve that mission.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ndassi\u2019s passion for cancer research is deeply personal. Growing up with a love of science, she once dreamed of becoming a doctor. But her focus on cancer treatment solidified after a heartbreaking loss\u2014her mother, Regina Nsibonu, passed away from pancreatic cancer a few months after Ndassi left high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until her mother\u2019s illness, she had never heard of the disease. In Cameroon, awareness of cancer is limited, and hospitals lack the essential equipment and treatments needed to diagnose and manage it effectively. Many people attribute cancer symptoms to other causes\u2014sometimes even to witchcraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter my mom passed away, a family friend also died from breast cancer,\u201d Ndassi says. \u201cPeople attributed it to witchcraft. Most of the time, when you start showing signs and symptoms of cancer, you won\u2019t go to the hospital. Instead, people will try to treat it with herbs or potions. But you need medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After earning her bachelor\u2019s degree in physics with a minor in biochemistry, Ndassi, with strong encouragement from her then best friend, began searching for a master\u2019s program in medical physics. 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s program stood out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she arrived in Rhode Island in August 2023, she quickly realized just how different life would be\u2014not just academically, but in everyday moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was my first time on a plane,\u201d she recalls. \u201cWhen I was leaving, my uncle helped me navigate everything. I got on the plane and thought, \u2018Oh wow, this is really nice.\u2019 Then I arrived in Rhode Island, and the first thing I thought was, \u2018Wow, this is cold.\u2019 It was late August!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although she hasn\u2019t quite adjusted to New England\u2019s chilly climate, the warm welcome at 溏心vlog免费B站 made all the difference. Despite the initial shock of navigating a large campus, she wasted no time meeting students and faculty\u2014starting with a volunteer event on her very first day in Kingston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom her first week here, it was clear she is special,\u201d says Leonard Kahn, chair of the physics department and Ndassi\u2019s faculty mentor. \u201cI first met her before the semester began at a 溏心vlog免费B站-United Way event at the Providence Convention Center. Even then, she had already made friends and figured out transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ndassi\u2019s time at 溏心vlog免费B站 has been remarkable. In two years, she has maintained a 3.97 GPA while taking double the typical graduate course load. She has served as a physics teaching assistant, joined numerous organizations\u2014including the Graduate Students Association and Global Connections\u2014and volunteered with groups such as the American Cancer Society, South County Hospital, and Rhody Outpost, and traveled to conferences in California and Arizona.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe has a daring attitude, courage, and a belief that nothing is beyond reach,\u201d says Anuradha Weerakkody, physics lab manager. \u201cHer ability to adapt and overcome challenging obstacles is truly remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s interdisciplinary approach\u2014including core classes in biology, biomedical engineering, and physics and how they tie back to medical physics\u2014mentorship and hands-on experiences have provided her the resources and opportunities to advance, she says. With a focus on cancer therapy, she also has taken part in numerous labs, including chemical engineering professor Samantha Meenach\u2019s nanoparticles lab and in physics professor Yana Rashentnyak\u2019s biophysics lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growing up in the middle of a civil war in Cameroon, where daily life was restricted to school and home, Ndassi has embraced the newfound freedom to explore, connect, and grow at 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen researching medical physics programs, I specifically looked for a program with a strong sense of community, much like what we have here at 溏心vlog免费B站,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted a place that would support my academic growth but also help me develop as a person, and 溏心vlog免费B站 provided exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond her Ph.D., she dreams of volunteering on a medical mission and eventually building a cancer center in Cameroon\u2014a goal so ambitious it makes her friends laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s a way, I want to collaborate with hospitals around the world and back home to make cancer treatment accessible,\u201d she says. \u201cI want people to understand that cancer is real, it\u2019s not witchcraft, and it\u2019s killing far too many people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before leaving Rhode Island for Maryland, Ndassi plans to make the most of her summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m embracing my inner Dora the Explorer and becoming the Dora of Rhode Island,\u201d she jokes. \u201cSome of my friends will be around, so we\u2019re starting a book club and a cooking club. Plus, I\u2019ll finally learn how to swim and ride a bicycle.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 12, 2025 \u2013 Doris Keziah Ndassi\u2019s first steps toward a career in medicine may have begun with her grandmother, Lydia Mbianda, lying on the living room floor of their family home in Bamenda, Cameroon. Burdened by severe leg and back pain, she would urge her great-grandchildren to step on her back, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":102092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102093,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102091\/revisions\/102093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}