Biomedical Engineering Symposium Enables Students to Learn from Leaders in the Field

Danial Babaki ’21 M.S. is eager to learn as much as he can about biomedical engineering (BME). He has been learning from experts at the University of New Haven, and, through a new speaker series, he has had the chance to interact with experts in the field from around the country.

A candidate in the University’s graduate program in biomedical engineering, Babaki has been taking part in “Frontiers of Biomedical Innovation," a new virtual symposium created by Kagya Amoako, Ph.D., an associate professor of biomedical engineering and the coordinator of the graduate degree program in biomedical engineering. Babaki has attended each of the lectures thus far.

“Students not only become familiar with the pioneers of BME, but, we also learn about what has recently attracted scientists’ attention in the field,” he said. “I have heard from many students that, after only a couple of sessions, they better understand the fact that cutting-edge research is most often conducted in collaboration with universities and other experts across various fields.”

Dr. Amoako, director of the University of New Haven’s Biomaterials and Medical Device Innovation Laboratory, is passionate about teaching his students about the multidisciplinary nature of the field. He hopes this symposium will help them to make informed career decisions and enable them to learn as much as they can about emerging areas in the field, as well as prepare for their own future endeavors.

“The symposium allows us to bring new and impactful BME education research, as well as the practical side of the field, to the University community and the state of Connecticut,” he said. “It will help foster organic collaborations among students, academicians, and practitioners to fuel exceptional innovation in BME.”

Dr. Amoako wants the speaker series to capture the important and novel innovations in biomedical engineering and related fields. He’s been networking with potential speakers, endeavoring to create multidisciplinary partnerships that support biomedical innovation. He hopes it enables students to learn about new technology, how leaders in the field develop medical solutions using engineering and science, and the business side of biomedical engineering.

“My goal for the symposium is to spark innovation in biomedical engineering through highlighting unmet clinical gaps,” he said. “Most importantly, I want to bring people, ideas, and tools together to create.”

The talks, which are being held via Zoom on Thursdays at 4 p.m., are open to all students. They offer students a valuable opportunity to network with leaders in the field, including professors at schools and institutions such as Cornell University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical company owned by Johnson & Johnson.

Babaki, who works with Dr. Amoako in the University’s Biomaterials and Medical Device Innovation Laboratory, has also been helping him promote the symposium.

“The talks have been well-organized in terms of the topics and the level of the studies presented,” he said. “I hope they pave the way for other departments to establish such meaningful platforms to engage students.”

For more information on the speaker series, please visit https://kagyaa.wixsite.com/unhbmespotlight.