Bubacarr J.B. Touray, a Gambian-born PhD immunologist and former Medical Research Council scientist, has launched Seedmap — an AI-powered academic counselling platform designed to help immigrant and first-generation students navigate education and career pathways with the personalized guidance he says he lacked growing up.
Touray arrived in the United States from a village in The Gambia as the first in his family to pursue higher education abroad. He earned a PhD in Comparative Biomedical Sciences and Immunology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, published peer-reviewed research in journals including Frontiers in Immunology and npj Vaccines, and advanced to leadership roles in scientific research. He is now channelling that experience into a platform aimed at supporting the next generation of immigrant students.
Seedmap combines human counselling with artificial intelligence to create comprehensive, evidence-based student profiles for grades 8 to 12. The process begins with a confidential intake session with parents or guardians, followed by multiple recorded counselling sessions, analysis of academic records and AI-generated reports. The reports map each student’s strengths, values, learning style and optimal career pathways drawn from a curated library of 59 accessible professions tailored for immigrant and first-generation families.
“I grew up in a village in The Gambia,” Touray said. “No one sat with me and said — here are your strengths, here is what the world needs, here is where those two things meet. I had to figure it out alone. It took longer than it should have. I built Seedmap so no student has to go through that.”
The platform is now accepting its founding cohort at an introductory rate of $800 for the full programme — significantly lower than the cost of traditional private counselling services, which often range from $3,000 to $15,000. It serves students nationwide through in-person and virtual options.
Touray previously worked as a Scientific Officer at the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, focusing on immunology and vaccinology. He currently serves as Molecular Laboratory Supervisor at Exact Sciences in Madison.
“The Gambian community in the United States and across the diaspora includes thousands of families who want the best for their children but do not always have access to the guidance that other families take for granted,” he said. “Seedmap is built for them.”
Families can enrol via https://seedmapcounseling.com or by contacting Touray at jbtouray1@gmail.com.
