Sahar Saleem, the first Egyptian female archaeological radiologist, says she hopes to see specialised higher education in her field, which has so far been largely restricted to foreign researchers.
In an interview with Al-Fanar Media, she said the turning point in her scientific career came in 2004 while she was studying the application of radiology to biology at the University of Western Ontario Hospital.
She decided to specialise in paleoradiology at the Canadian university after watching an examination of an Egyptian mummy. The experience heightened her sense of Egyptian nationality.
“That prompted me to study this science and to delve more into a specialty that was limited to foreigners,” she said. “My study provided me with a way to employ medical science in preserving artifacts and mummies and unveiling their mysteries.”