Purdue nursing researcher’s academic journey started with no electricity, to end with PhD and expertise in terminal cancer patient care

Evans Appiah Osei, left and a PhD student in the Purdue University School of Nursing, stands with his research advisor Assistant Professor Nasreen Lalani at a recent Gerontology Society of America conference. After studying by lantern light growing up in Ghana without electricity, Osei is set to earn his PhD in 2026.(Photo provided)

Written by: Tim Brouk, tbrouk@purdue.edu

Evans Appiah Osei’s early life was spent on the family farm in Agona-Bipoa, Ghana. There, he watched his grandmothers and aunties harvest plantains, cassava and other crops. He was often in wonder at how much produce his family members would carry in large baskets on their heads.

At night, he slept in the same room with about 10 other siblings and cousins. The house had no electricity, yet he remembers mostly happy times — large meals, togetherness and the manic energy a huge family in one house can provide. His studies had to be done at night by lantern. In junior high school, he was able to use his church’s electric lights to study for exams, often reading until he fell asleep.

Osei sits on a horse in Ghana, shortly before his move to West Lafayette.(Photo provided)

The work ethic and bravery in the face of major obstacles extended to Osei’s academic career in the Purdue University School of Nursing. The lad studying by lantern light became a PhD student leading a session on “Palliative and End of Life Care for Gynecologic Malignancies” at the 2025 Ghanaian Diaspora Nursing Alliance and World Continuing Education Alliance conferences this summer. He spoke in front of about 500 nurse practitioners from all over Africa about his Purdue research experience working with cervical cancer patients toward the end of their lives.

“The main goal was to let people be aware of what cervical cancer is to increase their knowledge,” Osei remembered. “After making sure people are aware, what are the experiences that those with the cancer are going through? What are their physical challenges, their psychological challenges?”

Osei also received the 2025 American Association for Men in Nursing Individual IDEA Award last month at the association’s annual conference. The IDEA award honors individuals that create and promote a welcoming environment for all nurses.

Osei’s newest Purdue research turns toward Black cervical and breast cancer patients in the United States. This project has the young Ghanian traveling to areas in Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee; and other cities to obtain qualitative data regarding the participants’ cancer journeys and what challenges they face.

The work could raise awareness of early detection, resources and other aspects that can make a difference in patients’ lives as they wage war against the disease.

While Osei has made an impact in his Purdue program, it was his experience studying and then working as a nurse in Ghana that brought him not only to West Lafayette but soon to his PhD, expected in 2026.

Gaining experience

Like many of his American counterparts, Osei decided to pursue nursing after many positive interactions with nurses during his childhood. He was an asthma patient and was impressed by the care and leadership his nurses showed.

After excelling in a high school boarding school that offered more privacy — and electricity — for his studies, Osei attended Valley View University in Oyibi, Ghana, before his master’s studies at the University of Ghana in the capital city, Accra.

Osei worked as a nurse during his years as a graduate student in Ghana, usually on the night shift, where he took public transportation. Balancing his studies and his 12-hour shifts in the emergency room of a hospital was difficult.

 “It was really a challenge, but I was still able to graduate (with his master’s) in two years,” Osei recalled.

Osei also had stints as a rural community clinic nurse, who was able to prescribe medications, and as a nurse at a rest home, which was the impetus of his end-of-life nursing expertise.

$1,000 and a dream of a doctorate

When Osei touched down in Indianapolis in fall 2022, it was the young graduate student’s first time on American soil. When he arrived in West Lafayette, all he had was his luggage and $1,000 in his pocket. The student didn’t realize he had to set up his own lodging, being used to being assigned a dorm room or apartment in his home country.

Then, the culture shock set in — different food, different people, different languages. Making friends was not as easy as it was in Ghana.

“Everything was different, and I had to really make an adjustment,” Osei said. “I was the only person from Africa in my classes. I was often the only male. And so, it was really difficult.”

But Osei soon found his fit.

Giant leap into research

Inspired by his home country’s unawareness about cervical cancer prevention and treatment, Osei’s first research projects dealt with “the financial implications related to end-of-life decision-making in women with cervical and other gynecological cancers.” He leaned on his Ghanian nursing experience, especially those he treated with terminal cancer. Osei’s recent shift to American cervical cancer patients has been assisted by his graduate advisor Nasreen Lalani, assistant professor of nursing.

‘It’s heavy’

While awareness is important for a devastating disease like cervical cancer, Osei found most American women are educated about the disease but often suffer from socio-economic issues in early detection and treatments, especially in Black populations. His newest research examines the obstacles and what can be done about them. He has interviewed these women in their homes, gaining their trust by going to church with them and having meals with them. The women, so far, have opened to him and offered heartbreaking stories as they battle life-threatening cancer.

“It’s heavy,” Osei said. “It’s hard. But I’m able to sympathize with them. As a nurse, listening is one important way of helping patients express their emotions. I just keep quiet and give them room.”

This potentially last research as a Boilermaker should propel him to an assistant professor position — and even a hands-on return to palliative care nursing.

“I’ve learned so much in my studies that I want to pass it back to patients,” Osei explained. “These are the people that want to be with, just to provide companionship to them, to put smiles on their faces so their last six months or whatever years they have could be easier. Somebody should be there to give them that emotional support, and that is what I want to do.”