Dr. Nerissa Naidoo is an Associate Professor of Anatomy in the College of Medicine at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) where she is primarily responsible for the teaching of gross anatomy, histology, embryology and cell biology. She is also the Vice-Chair of the International Accreditation and Student Development Committee, the auspices under which the co-curricular MBRU Summer Scholars Program is managed. Dr Nerissa completed her PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, under the co-mentorship of Ghent University in Belgium through a mobility scholarship awarded by the Erasmus Mundus Programme. In parallel with the growing global burden of musculoskeletal disorders, her research explores the intersection of clinical anatomy and molecular biology in osteoarthritis. This has enabled her to obtain intramural and external research funding, fostering collaborative work with colleagues across institutions in the UAE, South Africa, Belgium, Italy and India. She is a recipient of many awards (i.e., Doctoral Innovation Scholarship by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, MBRU Mutairu Ezimokhai Excellence in Teaching: Rising Teaching Award etc.) and was recognized as a Next Generation Women Leader by McKinsey and Company in 2020. In recognition of her collaborative efforts between the Middle East, Africa and Italy regions, Dr Nerissa received the inaugural “Science, She Says!” award from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2023. Most recently, she was selected as a recipient of the prestigious Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Grant by the Dubai Future Foundation.