2025 AfroBioTech Day 2 Industry Mentor Lunch
Monday, February 18th 12:15PM-1:30PM ET at the John Lewis Student Center at Georgia Tech in Atlanta
Due to the success and postivie feedback from 2023, we are delighted to announce that this year's AfroBioTech attendees are once again invited to an Industry Mentor Lunch, where participants will be paired with an industry mentor and given time and prompts to facilitate conversations around career development and challenges in the biotechnology field. This lunch gives students or young professionals an opportunity to sit with leaders in the field, from both academia and industry, to discuss career development. See below for our confirmed mentors!
Attendees can sign up here to select a preferred mentor and guarantee a spot:
(Note that spots filled up at the 2023 mentor lunch 2 weeks prior to the event)
Yasmine Malone
Strategic Sourcing Program Manager, Medtronic
Yasmine Malone is a highly accomplished Strategic Sourcing Program Manager at Medtronic, Inc. She is known for her exceptional abilities in strategic planning, project management, and sourcing strategies. She holds a MBA in Business Administration and has a strong background in medical device manufacturing and supply chain management. Over the years, Yasmine has honed her skills in negotiation, product development, and supplier management. Her innovative strategies and effective team leadership have resulted in significant cost reductions and efficiency improvements for Medtronic. Yasmine is also recognized for her strong problem-solving skills and her ability to manage complex projects to successful completion.
Chamarley King
Medtronic
Chamarley King is a 23-year-old supplier engineer with a degree in Bioengineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Originally from a small town, she has always dreamed big and is now focused on advancing her career in engineering. Currently working as a supplier engineer, she鈥檚 passionate about optimizing supply chains and ensuring high-quality standards.
Looking ahead, Chamarley plans to pursue a Master鈥檚 in Engineering Leadership and eventually an MBA to expand her leadership and business acumen. She aims to build a career in the global quality sector of engineering, where she can drive innovation and sustainability. Outside of work, Chamarley enjoys cooking, shopping, and watching movies and series. With her strong ambition and determination, she鈥檚 set on making a global impact in the engineering field while staying grounded in her small-town roots.
Lanaiea Reed
Clinical Specialist, Medtronic
Lanaiea Reed is a Clinical Specialist at Medtronic where she serves as the customer-facing clinical product expert for the endoscopy portfolio. Lanaiea started her career at the Marcus Autism Center conducting pre-launch trial activities for patient screening tools in support of clinical research. She also served in multiple functions at Children鈥檚 Healthcare of Atlanta, and WellStar Atlanta Medical Center, providing support to patients, hospital staff, and physicians. Her most recent experience was in the biotechnology space with Artivion, Inc. as a Quality Assurance Analyst for transplant tissues. Lanaiea earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Oglethorpe University.
Hannah Akinosho
Medical Writer, Medtronic
Hannah Akinosho, MS, PhD is a medical writer at Medtronic, where she evaluates medical devices and prepares reports to confirm their safety and efficacy. Prior to her current role, Dr. Akinosho worked for other medical device companies that manufacture wound closure devices. Her work involved creating analytical test methods, developing new products, conducting routine testing, and authoring procedures, protocols, and reports.
Dr. Akinosho is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, where she earned her PhD in Organic Chemistry. Her research sought to advance biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass as part of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Bioenery Science Center (BESC). Her research was published in several journals such as Frontiers in Chemistry, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, and Biotechnology in Biofuels.
Outside of her professional life, Dr. Akinosho volunteers in various capacities with children at her church and in the community. She also enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and hiking.
Alyssa Panitch
Wallace H. Coulter Department Chair & Professor, Emory University and Georgia Tech
Dr. Panitch received bachelor鈥檚 degrees from Smith College in Biochemistry and from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 91成人短视频 Engineering. She completed her Ph.D. in Polymer Science and Engineering from the University of Massachusetts. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and University of Zurich. She started her first faculty position at Arizona State University in 1999 where she was awarded an NSF CAREER award. She is currently the chair of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Tech. She is a member and Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE) and the National Academy of Inventors. She also serves as an Editor for the Journal of Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces.
Jada Selma
Senior Clinical Research Specialist, Medical Affairs & Clinical Evidence, Medtronic
Jada is an accomplished biomedical research scientist who fosters collaborative relationships with scientific leaders to develop clinical studies that advance diagnostic imaging in numerous therapeutic areas, including human cytogenetics, microbiology, forensics, biodosimetry, and pathology. During her extensive 8+ year academic and professional experience, she has thrived in presenting and analyzing preclinical/clinical data in copious mediums (i.e. white papers, oral conference presentations, publications) to various audiences (i.e. academia, general public, industry, clinical). Jada also excels in managing cross-functional collaboration with commercial, regulatory, and quality teams that lead to the successful completion of business initiatives.
Jada is driven by her ambition to effectively communicate scientific discoveries and new technologies to healthcare professionals in order to improve patient care, especially in under-served communities.