Ella Al-Shamahi grew up a creationist, but her perspective shifted when she studied evolution at university. Today, she’s a paleoanthropologist who hunts fossils in unstable territories to uncover the overlooked stories of human evolution. Ella is a fierce advocate for conducting research in places where people don’t usually do science, and she believes these under-researched places are the frontier of scientific discovery.

Through her archeological pursuits, Ella is not only working to eliminate the blind spot of Western science, but she’s also shedding light on the least understood people and places on Earth. She envisions a world where “conflict zones” aren’t just seen as war-torn landscapes, but as places where life continues and discoveries are possible.

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