Young Bahamian Makes Scientific Breakthrough

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NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS – A 23-year-old Bahamian is earning international recognition after making a scientific discovery that could aid future medical research.

The young Bahamian recently identified a virus that attacks bacteria, marking a major milestone early in her scientific career.

Our Delvardo Emmanuel has her story.

At just 23 years old, Ashanique Cambridge has accomplished what many researchers spend years pursuing.

Discovering a previously unknown bacteriophage, a virus that infects bacteria and plays an important role in medical research.

The Exuma native, who later moved to Nassau, recently graduated with honors from St. Leo University with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical health sciences.

But her passion for science began long before college, with a childhood hospital visit that sparked a lifelong fascination with medicine.

“ I was a little girl. I was supposed to get my tonsils removed, and I just remember being in the hospital, and I just was so fascinated by things and everything that was around me, and the vision never left me ever since I was a little girl. So it stuck with me, and I’m here today because of that experience.”

During her freshman year at St. Leo university in Florida, Cambridge joined a global phage discovery program, where students search for previously unknown bacteriophages that can be catalogued for future scientific research.

After three months of lab work, countless tests and more than a few setbacks, she found one.

The discovery was verified, entered into an international database and named “Char 58” after her mother, Charlene.

Cambridge says while her discovery may not lead to an immediate cure, it could one day help researchers develop treatments for diseases or cancers.

“ People around the world are allowed to join this program and allowed to, um, find bacteria of their own. And what it does is it allows there to be a database where future researchers can go in, and if something that my bacteria that I find for some reason matches a criteria that they may need for their research, they can use it.”

Looking back, Cambridge admits she didn’t fully realize how significant the discovery was.

In fact, she thought finding a new phage was something every student was expected to do.

It wasn’t until her professors and family celebrated the achievement that she began to understand its impact.

Now., with her degree complete, she plans to return home, gain research experience and eventually pursue a PhD.

“ Using my talents to better my country. Um, we see too much people, they come and they go, and they stay wherever they might be, and I, I never plan to be one of those people. No, you know, nothing towards them, but I do believe that we need somebody, if it’s just one person, to just stay and, and build what we’re missing here in this country.”

And for other young Bahamians dreaming of a career in science, Cambridge has one simple message, don’t give up.

“ That’s my main thing. Um, it’s not easy. It’s really not. Even during the process of me trying to find the bacteria, it was really hard. Um, it took a lot of work. It took a lot of redo, a lot of mistakes, a lot of going back, seeing where I went wrong. Um, so just don’t give up.”