Stefan Nwandu-Vincent has earned his doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering and will be graduating this December. Hailing from Washington, D.C. by way of Lagos, Nigeria, Stefan has been a Volunteer for his entire academic life by earning his B.A. in Biomedical Engineering from UT in 2011. Fellow graduate and engineer Terence Randall, encouraged Stefan to apply for the program after being a PEER Scholar for a year, noting how PEER could help him accomplish his future goals at UT.
Stefan’s dissertation is entitled “Unlocking the Secrets of Multi-Flagellated Propulsion”. Specifically, Stefan coupled microscopic studies with mathematical modeling to uncover the largely unknown swimming strategies & behaviors of multi-flagellated eukaryotic cells. Diseases that afflict a variety of animals come from multi-flagellated eukaryotic cells and the implications of his research can help develop tailored medication to treat those diseases.
PEER enabled Stefan to complete his degree in a speedy fashion in a number of ways. Stefan explains, “PEER funding enabled me to hand pick the professor that I wanted to work with. My research was not constrained to what funding was available. Also, the discourse meetings and workshops helped me get a leg up on other graduate students. I felt like I knew how to navigate my program better and I knew what I should be getting out of it.”
Stefan is open to pursuing a career in academia as well as going into the biomedical research industry. In whatever path he chooses, Stefan says, “The ability to network and build relationships with others that I developed through PEER will stay with me. Without PEER, I would not have that as a part of my professional life.”