Growing up as a girl in a traditional Muslim family in Bangladesh, Sabina Mahmood learned early on how to balance traditional expectations with modern aspirations. Now an associate professor and medical educator at Okayama University, Dr. Mahmood is also a mentor for incoming International Baccalaureate (IB) graduates and foreign students across all disciplines at the university.

It has not been an easy path, but Mahmood has carved out a career while at the same time supporting her family as an ostensibly traditional wife and mother. Adapting culturally, overcoming the language barrier and raising trilingual kids in a monolingual environment were among her biggest challenges.

Mahmood credits her upbringing by her parents and maternal grandmother with teaching her how to balance conventional expectations with a thriving career.