The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) has awarded $38,500 to Solomon Mensah, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, to develop a seven-week summer program for high school students who are interested in developing medical devices for global health.
“We are incredibly proud to support Professor Mensah’s work to further expand experiential learning opportunities in the life sciences,” said MLSC President and CEO Kenn Turner. “Our ecosystem is at a critical point that requires collaboration and bold leadership to change the complexion of our workforce. Our efforts are strengthened mightily with institutions such as WPI and our partners across the Central Massachusetts life sciences cluster.”
The program will be aimed at under-represented students in the Worcester Public Schools and focus on the ideation, design, and implementation of medical devices for developing countries. Mensah is principal investigator (PI) on the MLSC grant, and Dirk Albrecht, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, is co-PI.
“Interest in medical product development careers usually begins in college,” Mensah said. "The goal of this summer program will be to expose high school students to the field so that under-represented young people pursue engineering degrees in college and then seek jobs or start companies in the medical device industry.”
Mensah expects to seek additional funding to launch the summer program in 2023 at WPI.
A member of the faculty since 2021, Mensah is a co-founder of Therapeutic Innovations, an organization that develops medical devices that can expand health care in developing countries.