The Founder - Yaw Bediako
Dr Yaw Bediako - Co-founder and CEO of Yemaachi Biotechnology; Research Fellow WACCBIP-University of Ghana; Crick African Network Fellow; eLife Early Career Advisory Group; Affiliate Member - African Academy of Sciences; Lead for the African Science Initiative #AfricaRising
His Company and Research: Through my research and our company, I seek to understand immune function among African populations which have been understudied. Our work will shed light on how different people in Africa respond to infectious and non-infectious diseases and lead to the development of new ways to diagnose and treat these diseases. Yemaachi Biotechnology is developing new improved ways of diagnosing cancer but this is just the first step - watch this space! And see their YouTube video below.
His Science Spark: High school science classes started his path to becoming a scientist. Curious about how the body worked, he followed that curiosity to university, a PhD and beyond.
His Heroes: Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, and Paul Farmer - all visionary leaders, who refused to accept the status quo.
His Top Tip: “Don't pick the easy task, go for the most challenging and most impactful thing you can do.”
What do you need besides curiosity, hard work, communication, creativity? humility and attention to detail.
His Superpowers!
I can pull a single specific type of cell out of a blood sample through flow cytometry.
I can detect and identify which cytokines are found in a sample with ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays).
I can see what genes are expressed in a cell at a any given time using RNAseq.
His scientific strengths: writing, communication and innovation
Connect: Twitter @YawBediako_ @YemaachiBio