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Aymen Idris on Muck Rack

Aymen Idris

(He/Him)
London
As seen in: LinkedIn, Substack, The Conversation, blogs.lse.ac.uk, The Scientist, Times Higher Education, Skeptical Inquirer, The Humanist Magazine, Inner Self Magazine, The GrowthOp and
Covers:  Academia, science, diversity and culture.
Author of ‘The Hyphenated Academic’ and Founder and Director of AiS Think-Tank @africainscience

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Aymen Idris’s Biography

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a UK academic on a career break, author, and commentator based in London, UK. I write for different publications, focusing on culture and academia.

Aymen Idris’s Journalist Portfolio

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The Hyphenated Academic

The Hyphenated Academic

A Journey of Science, Identity, Faith, and the Quest for Belonging, From Sufi Africa to the British Academy

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The Lost Art of Scientific Inquiry

The Lost Art of Scientific Inquiry

When I began my PhD studies around 2000,

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Open your ears: dismantling higher education's sonic straitjacket - LSE Higher Education

Open your ears: dismantling higher education's sonic straitjacket - LSE Higher Education

UK universities name-drop Stormzy while ensuring no one who sounds like him actually breaks through British a…

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Separating the Scholar from the Person: The Cost of Compartmentalising Genius - TheHumanist.com

Separating the Scholar from the Person: The Cost of Compartmentalising Genius - TheHumanist.com

A junior scientist's reflection on cultural incompetence.

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The Unseen Burden

The Unseen Burden

A response to my critics on why challenging positive ethnic discrimination is an act of solidarity, not sabot…

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Between God and the Lab: The Ethical Dilemmas Universities Ignore

Between God and the Lab: The Ethical Dilemmas Universities Ignore

A PhD Student’s Moral Dilemma

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Articles

The Lost Art of Scientific Inquiry

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By Aymen Idris
| Skeptical Inquirer
When I began my PhD studies around 2000, I carried a clear, romantic vision of what it would mean to be a researcher. I imagined long hours in the lab, the hum of centrifuges and classical music from an old radio my constant companion. I pictured myself making careful observations, formulating novel hypotheses, and designing elegant experiments to unravel nature’s most stubborn secrets.
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The Hyphenated Academic

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By Aymen Idris
| TechTrends
This is the story of a scientist who never chose to be an academic, only to fall in love with research. In The Hyphenated Academic, Aymen I. Idris, P.hD. traces his unlikely path from a childhood epiphany in a Sudanese Sufi ceremony to pioneering discoveries in cannabinoid research, the founding of a university spin-out company, and a career crowned by papers in Nature and Cell. But the very institution that elevated him also drove him away.
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Academics must speak out to tackle ‘casual racism’ against visiting ‘Black speakers’

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By Aymen Idris
| LinkedIn
Covid-19 enforced remote working and suspension of in-person scientific gatherings impacted scientists in many negative ways. However, emerging research is suggesting there may be some silver linings. I concur. For many scientists of African ancestry, like myself, virtual meetings and online events had offered an unexpected benefit - a break from the stress of so-called casual racism. Being invited by another university to deliver a guest lecture should be a moment of pride for any researcher.
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See all 16 licensed articles (22 Total)

Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

I was asked to write an opinion piece for a scientific journal.

Have you ever used a typewriter?

Yes, while in school in Africa as a teenager.

How is social media changing news?

In many ways than the founders and supporters of such platforms would like to think.