Biomedical Engineering Professor Reflects on the Success of Recent Graduate

Yaw Ansong Jr. ’19 M.S. admits he is amazed at how his career has progressed since he graduated from the University of New Haven’s graduate program in biomedical engineering (BME). Originally from Ghana, Yaw practiced medicine in his native country before moving to the U.S. to pursue a graduate degree at the University of New Haven.

“I’ve always loved engineering and technology, and I always knew I wanted to combine my medical knowledge with engineering,” he said. “I didn’t know how I would achieve that until I came to the University of New Haven.

He is currently preparing to begin the doctorate program in biomedical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. His training will be fully funded, and he has received a National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)/Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) fellowship. He was also accepted to the biomedical engineering doctorate program at Cornell University.

"If there’s anything life has taught me, it's that the right education and the right mentorship opportunities matter." Yaw Ansong Jr. ’19 M.S.

During his time as a Charger, Yaw worked as a research assistant at the University’s Biomaterials and Medical Device Innovation lab (BMDI lab), of which I am the director. It was at the BMDI lab that Yaw was first introduced to biomaterials and tissue engineering research.

It was through his work at the BMDI lab that he was introduced to basic research skills such as publication writing and research presentation. He presented his research at conferences such as the Biomedical Engineering Society Conference and the American Chemical Society Conference at Yale, where his poster was recognized as the second best.

I was not surprised to learn that he was accepted at some of the best institutions in the country. His success is a testament to the University’s graduate program in biomedical engineering’s focus on students and research. His story is not unique in our program.

The skills Yaw developed came in handy when he graduated from the University. While his colleagues were job hunting and receiving offers, he spent time developing his new venture, KovaDx, a medical diagnostics company aiming to fix the health disparity faced by people with sickle cell disease, which was funded through grants.

Working to develop a device that combines 3D phase images with deep learning to make the diagnosis of blood morphological diseases cheaper and easier to perform, the company has research partnerships and collaborations with scientists at Yale and Duke University. It has also been selected for awards and grants including Connecticut Innovation’s biopipeline grant, the Rothberg Prototype Fund Award, and the Rita Wilson Prize Fund from Yale.

‘If there’s anything life has taught me, it's that the right education and the right mentorship opportunities matter,” said Yaw. “I’ll never forget the experiences I had at the University of New Haven.”

Dr. Kagya Amoako is an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of New Haven. He is also coordinator of the graduate program in biomedical engineering and director of the University’s Biomaterials and Medical Device Innovation Laboratory.