Spotlight on... Asma Ashraf

What is your role and what does it involve?

I am a Research Nurse at the Centre for Clinical Research in Infection and Sexual Health which is part of the Institute for Global Health. My role involves working very closely with an NHS service and recruiting patients to clinical drug trials. My role has evolved to include teaching and supervising students. My teaching focuses on gender-based violence in particular forced marriage and honour-based abuse.

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

I have been at UCL for over seven years. Previous to my role at UCL I worked for Terrence Higgins Trust (an HIV and sexual health charity) as a specialist nurse with marginalised communities.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

I am very proud that I contribute to the improvement of community for all at UCL. This I do by contributing to the EDI group within my department and by being an active member of the UCL Race Equality Steering Group and LGBTQ+ Equality Steering Group. Within these roles I have and am working on projects to improve LGBTQ+ and race equality. Community is very important to me.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of your to-do list?

I am working on a research project on child marriage and mental health. This is very important because this is an issue that is happening across the world and here at home in the UK. As a survivor of threatened child marriage, I want to stop this from happening.

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

This is a difficult one to answer but my current favourites are:

Album: the soundtrack to Caramel by Khaled Mouzanar in particular Mreyte Ya Mreyte (beautiful lyrics, translate it from Arabic) this song resonates;
Film: Caramel – a moving film about four friends in Beirut. I love watching this film.
Book:  I recently finished reading Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo.

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

Why don’t ants get sick?
Because they have anti-bodies! 

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu (UCL), Marica Jacks (UCL IfWH), Noel Caliste (UCL), Mary Seacole, David Bowie, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Noor Inayat Khan, Daphne du Maurier.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Believe in yourself.

What would it surprise people to know about you?

I love swimming in cold water.

What is your favourite place?

East Portlemouth in Devon – I felt like I had come home the first time I ever went there twenty years ago. I have been going back ever since.