November 2024: Nosakhare Iyoha

Education

Biomedical Engineering 2027, Minor in Ethnicity and Race Studies

Where are you from?

Spring, Texas! (I usually just lie and say Houston because it’s close enough)

What drew you to the field of Biomedical Engineering?
Between participating in Science Olympiad and NeuroCamps in high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare despite not taking a formal Biology class until Columbia! I was also interested in the technical aspects of health innovation, and BME offers a way. I had so many interests in Genomic Research, Neuroscience, and prosthetics and this field was the perfect fit for me to explore all aspects! Plus, I get the benefits of joining one of the nation's most supportive and collaborative BME programs.

What is your current role?
I started working at the Morphogenesis and Developmental Biomechanics Lab under my PI, Professor Nandan Nerurkar, at the start of last summer! My mini-project was working on discovering the effects of two types of deActin plasmids on early-stage chick embryo development through a process called electroporation. During the school year, I continue working on different projects illuminating the forces driving endothermal morphogenesis.
Aside from that, I also work as the Racial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion At-Large Rep for the Engineering Student Council. Working and organizing with different departments to collaborate on events and initiatives to highlight diversity and promote inclusivity at SEAS has been amazing!

Why did you choose Columbia BME?
I chose Columbia BME because out of all the prospective programs/schools I considered last year, Columbia was the only one that showcased their emphasis on listening to the student voice. I came because I knew I would feel supported by faculty and advisors.

What were some of your favorite projects/memories from the program?

Through my role as the CSI Space Microbiology Mission Co-Lead, my team and I get to work directly in the BME Teaching Lab under the guidance of Dr. Lauren Hecklemen and Joseph Viola. Through this collaboration, the Space Microbiology mission has gotten to work on many fun projects, including our parabolic flight with the Mason Lab and our work on the Axiom-2 spaceflight data Brain-Health Blood-biomarkers. Even so our work recently got published in a Neuroscience Journal by Dr. Bader Shirah!

What was your proudest moment at Columbia?
My proudest moment at Columbia is probably during the Columbia Space Initative (CSI) event I got to help host last Spring, called the “Spacesposium”. We invited all of the middle schools that we partner with for our outreach mission as a way to showcase all of the cool things my Space Microbiology mission does. It was really sweet and eye-opening seeing groups of 12-year-olds get excited about hearing about microgravity and mitochondrial function. It was just such a warm-hearty feeling to get to recap all the hard work we put into our club.

How has your experience with Columbia BME contributed towards your goals?
Props to my lab! Hands down, everyone, including the Post-Docs, PhD candidates, and Master’s, have offered advice and general wisdom about navigating the program. Even my friends outside of my lab have helped so much in ever aspect even including the volunteer work I get to do with CUEMS! The BME community extends so far and is just always welcoming. It’s been so nice having a community here supporting me in every aspect of my time here at Columbia.

What are your thoughts on the strength of Columbia BME's alumni network, and how has that influenced your career path?
It’s been amazing getting to know and have a way to stay connected with BME alums! Hearing from so many recent alums who are pursuing MD-PhDs and the diversity of their research is impressive. When I attended the SEAS Columbia Engineering Alumni Association (CEAA), it was also lovely to talk to more established alums and learn about the different career paths!

Any words of wisdom or tips for prospective BME students?
Get involved! Join a club even if you’re only a little interested, you might end up loving it! There are so many avenues to be involved in the BME/SEAS community and I think it’s essential to be active with stuff that directly concerns you.

What are you excited about?
I am so excited to continue to work in the lab and with CUEMS this semester and am super happy to get to know more of my new BME class! I can not wait to be get to work on some more initiatives at SEAS with the rest of student council.