Naya James Mbabila profile photo

Naya James Mbabila

Biomedical Engineering Student | Leader

Profile Summary

I am leveraging STEM and leadership to transform the African Medical Technology landscape.

Areas of Interest

Biophotonics
Medical Imaging & Sensing
Medical Signal & Image Processing
Biophysics
Bioinstrumentation
Telemedicine & Telemetry
Photonics
Biomedical Engineering Systems
Engineering Design
Biomaterials
Tissue Engineering
Biomechanics
IoMT
Nanotechnology
Sustainable Healthcare
Medical Physics
Cybersecurity
Quantum Computing
Artificial Intelligence
Web Development
Numerical Methods
Bioinformatics
Leadership
Management
STEM Education
Finance

Education

B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering | First Class Honours

Department of Biomedical Engineering
School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana

University of Ghana, Legon

  • Final CGPA: 3.8/4.0 (First Class Honours)
  • Capstone Project: Design of Novel Aspirator Connector for Fluid Evacuation during Cesarean Sections
  • Honors & Leadership: Dean's Honor List; OBED Fellow; President, GSBE-UG; Speaker of Parliament, ESUG; Electoral Commission Chair, ESUG

General Science Program

Nandom Senior High School

  • Highlights: Contestant, National Science & Maths Quiz (NSMQ 2021); Contestant, Senior High School Renewable Energy Challenge (SHSREC 2021); Health Prefect (2020/2021)

Professional and Academic Experience Highlights

Founder and Operations Manager

INNOGEN | Institute for Innovation and Next-Generation Engineering

Ghana

  • Co-founded institute dedicated to accessible healthcare innovation and engineering education in Africa
  • Led technical workshops, including "Building Low-Cost X-Ray Machines," guiding participants through medical imaging physics, component design, and local fabrication pipelines
  • Developing open-source models and cost-reduction strategies for medical device manufacturing

Editorial Board Member (National Service)

National Service Scheme (NSS), University of Ghana

Legon, Accra

Fully-Funded Global Delegate, Future Action Summit Malaysia 2025

Echo Change

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

  • Selected as one of top ten fully-funded participants from thousands of global applicants
  • Led working group on Medical Technology and Policy for Post-2030 Youth Charter
  • Engaged in SDG discussions with international changemakers and leaders

2024 OBED Fellow, Global Health Design Initiative

University of Michigan & University of Ghana | OBED Fellowship

Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra

  • Conducted comprehensive needs assessment in Obstetrics and Gynecology through ethnographic observation, interviews, and stakeholder engagement
  • Assessed 60 unique problems, developed design specifications for capstone project
  • Supervised by Ing. Prof. Elsie Effah Kaufmann, Dr. Claude Fiifi Hayford, Dr. Dhanalakshmi Thiyagarajan, and Prof. Julia Kramer

Leadership Roles

President, GSBE-UG

Ghana Society of Biomedical Engineering - University of Ghana

  • Spearheaded GSBE-UG as its 2nd President, enhancing member engagement and organizational reach
  • Designed and implemented diverse programs including peer mentorship, Learning Space, 3 industrial field trips, and professional development seminars
  • Pioneered maiden Nationwide BME Webinar through collaboration across 7 universities

Speaker of Parliament

Engineering Students Association of University of Ghana (ESUG)

Previously: Electoral Commission Chair (Sep 2023-Aug 2024) 2nd Deputy Electoral Commissioner (Jun-Aug 2023)
  • Presided over parliamentary sessions for 19th ESUG Administration during General Assemblies
  • Facilitated policy approvals and resolutions for 1,000+ engineering students
  • Successfully conducted free, fair, and incident-free elections for executive positions

Head, Project Department

Street Fund Global Foundation Ghana

  • Lead strategic planning, implementation, and oversight of community-focused social impact initiatives

Professional Experience

Biomedical Engineering Intern

Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital

Kumasi, Ghana

  • Participated in calibrating, troubleshooting, servicing, repairing, and maintaining medical equipment including X-ray, MRI, ventilators, dialysis and anesthesia machines
  • Programmed and deployed EquiBase medical equipment inventory software for department management

Medical Laboratory Intern

Powerhouse Hospital

Kumasi, Ghana

  • Performed laboratory analyses on biological samples (hematology, clinical chemistry, microbiology, serology)
  • Conducted procedures including blood cross-matching and microscopic examinations using diagnostic equipment

Academic & Committee Roles

Building Expansion Committee Member

School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana

  • Contributing to planning and expansion of engineering facilities

Overseer

Science and Maths Club, Nandom Senior High School

  • Coordinated club activities including preparation for competitions and organizing internal competitions

Health Prefect

Nandom Senior High School

  • Led health policies and coordinated student welfare initiatives

Technical Programs & Training

Quantum Computing Program

The Coding School & IBM

  • Completed intensive quantum computing course with IBM quantum platform

Biomedical Engineering Immersion

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

  • Participated in virtual immersion program in biomedical engineering

Part-Time & Apprenticeship Roles

Paint Technician Apprentice

Lumba Vehicle Spraying Shop

Suame Magazine, Kumasi, Ghana

  • Progressed from preparation tasks to independently executing vehicle painting projects and customer engagement

Scholarships & Recognitions

  • Head of Department Recognition Award for Distinguished Leadership - Department of Biomedical Engineering (July 2025)
  • Best Project Presentation Award - 4th National GSBE Conference (Oct 2024) | Topic: "Design of Echolocation Glasses for Visually Impaired Individuals"
  • Dean's Honor List - School of Engineering Sciences, University of Ghana (2023/2024 Academic Year)
  • Educational Pathways International Scholarship (Jan 2022, Jan 2023, Oct 2023, Oct 2024) | approximately GHC 40,000.00 ($3,600.00 equivalent)
  • Overall Best Student - Nandom Senior High School (2018/19 and 2019/20 Academic Years)

Essential Skills & Certifications

Core Technical Skills

  • Engineering: CAD (SolidWorks, Autodesk Fusion), Medical Equipment Maintenance, Engineering Design, Research, Laboratory Equipment Operation
  • Technology: Python (Django, Scikit-learn, OpenCV, Data Science), MATLAB, Arduino, Proteus Design Suite, Machine Learning, SIEM, Cyber Security

Recent Certifications

  • Certificate of Oral Presentation - ICAST 2025 International Student Conference, Kumamoto University & National Chiayi University (Dec 2025)
  • Certificate of Poster Presentation - Medical Innovation Expo, Academic City University, Accra (Oct 2025)
  • Google Advanced Data Analytics Certificate - Coursera & Google (2025)
  • Google Project Management Professional Certificate - Coursera & Google (2024)
  • Hospital Planning & Design and Equipment Management - Hospital Engineering Academy (November 2024)
  • Particle Physics: An Introduction - Coursera & Université de Genève (Nov 2023)
  • Quantum Computing - Qubit by Qubit, The Coding School & IBM (Oct 2022 - Apr 2023)

View complete skills profile and certifications

Professional Memberships

  • Ghana Institution of Engineering - Student Member (2024-Present)
  • The Field Engineer - Student Member (2023-Present)
  • Elsie Effah Kaufmann Foundation - Volunteer (2023-Present)
  • Vispad Institute of Technology, Ghana - Member and Teaching Assistant (2022-Present)

Research Projects

View full project portfolio

References: Available upon request