DrGiftyTetteh

Summary

I am a biomedical engineer passionate about stakeholder engagement, S.T.E.M. outreach and entrepreneurship. I have in-depth understanding of research operations and strategy, and extensive experience in providing professional, operational, and administrative support within Higher Education Institutions. I enjoy working on technical and project-based challenges at the interface of engineering and medicine, and translating research beyond academia. I relocated to the UK in 2012 to pursue a PhD in Bioengineering at the University of Sheffield. Since then, I have lived and worked in Sheffield, Oxford, Hull and London. Prior to that, I worked as a Research & Teaching Associate in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Ghana.

Current Roles

AI-4-EB Consortium Manager: I provide translational project leadership to the AI-4-EB consortium, enabling the research and innovation output of the consortium to advance more rapidly into societal application and commercial development.

The national UKRI AI-4-EB consortium is an inter-disciplinary and inter-institution strategic initiative for major research at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) /Machine Learning (ML) and Engineering Biology/Synthetic Biology.

I lead operations for the consortium and contribute to the development of the AI-4-EB strategy; working with the PI, Co-I’s, and management board to increase the number of awarded projects that achieve translation. I contribute to writing inter-disciplinary research grant proposals, research summaries, strategic documents and reports to funders and interested parties.

I also provide project and alliance management support to the four (4) light leading streams in the transition award. I manage project finances (£1.5 M budget) and prepare financial reports to aid strategic decision making. I also manage the recently awarded spotlight projects (three flexibly funded research projects with 6-12 months duration) to ensure they build capacity at the AI/EB interface and facilitate further funding or attract commercial investment.

LiSENUS Project Manager: I manage this NIHR multi-partner translational project that is using ultrafast, super-resolution ultrasound imaging to detect metastatic lymph nodes in breast cancer patients. The project brings together over 25 Engineers, Clinicians, Statisticians and Diagnostic Device Experts from Imperial College London, the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, the London In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, the Imperial College Healthcare Trust, and the University of Warwick. 

I support the Engineering and Clinical PIs with post-award grant administration. I manage research work packages and monitor project outcomes to ensure that the project delivers on agreed milestones and deliverables. I also manage the project finances (£1M budget) and track spend/financials from partner institutions.

I manage stakeholder engagement and communications, and regularly liaise with Co-I’s and administrative leads to monitor and report on KPI’s for the project. I lead project meetings, contribute to project agreements (collaboration and NDAs) and prepare project reports for various audiences.

BioMedEng Association: As the Head of Operations for the Association of Biomedical Engineers, Medical Engineers and Bioengineers (BioMedEng), I work with a variety of stakeholders, both within Imperial College and externally with the 580 members and 80 UK and international institutions involved with the Association.

I support the Trustees and BioMedEng Council, to develop and implement the national strategy for the charity and ensure maximum societal and charitable benefits for the Association’s activities.

I manage the charity’s finances and reporting to the Charity Commission, and manage membership applications and engagement. I also support the conference chair, host institution and local committees organising the annual BioMedEng conference.

I regularly liaise with industrial partners, international funders and institutions, academic collaborators and networks in the UK, representatives from our partner universities, the UK bioengineering community etc.

Previous College Roles

I joined Imperial in 2018 as the Centre Manager and operational lead of the Musculoskeletal Medical Engineering Centre, MSk MEC. At the MSk MEC, I managed projects and worked with the four Co-Directors (Profs Anthony Bull, Justin Cobb, Jonathan Jeffers and Molly Stevens) in delivering the leadership vision of the centre.

I coordinated cross-college research proposals and funding bids, and supported academics to build networks that facilitate funding and attract commercial investment.

Between 2018 and 2020, I contributed to several successful strategic grant applications, including the £1.6m Medical Device Prototype & Manufacturing Unit and the £1.3m Injury & Reconstruction Biomechanics Suite. I was also successful in securing a number of grants from the British Heart Foundation, Versus Arthritis and other agencies for the BioMedEng19 and BioMedEng18 conferences.

As Director of the BioMedEng18 and BioMedEng19 conferences, I have extensive experience in working with multiple stakeholders to deliver on collaborative outputs, and in organising large-scale engagement events.

Such experience stems from coordinating the official launch of the BioMedEng Association, organising the BioMedEng18 and BioMedEng19 conferences, the MSk MEC Sandpit Competition with the University of Nottingham, various steering committee meetings, regular MSk MEC seminars, and the Labs2Africa Programme.

Background

I joined Imperial College from Sweatcoin, a digital currency-based tech start-up, where I managed relationships with key executives of health & wellbeing companies. Prior to Sweatcoin, I worked at Smith & Nephew as a Technology Analyst. As part of my role, I managed outsourced projects and coordinated alliances between the company and external consulting firms. I led product-concepts from feasibility to the intellectual property & prototype development stage, and contributed actively towards projects within the Research and Innovation team (New Product Development). I also explored opportunities for creating partnerships between the company and universities through PhD studentships.

I am passionate about S.T.E.M. outreach and have volunteered for several events in the United Kingdom and Ghana. I received the Sir Harry Kroto Family Science Award in 2014 for the Labs2Africa programme as ‘The researcher who has made the most worthwhile contribution, in a particular year, to science education of young people locally, nationally or globally’.

I have also been involved in teaching a wide variety of biological, medical and engineering courses to both local and international students at the foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Extracurricular Activities

When I'm not working, you will probably find me designing and making clothing from African wax prints, cooking a feast or baking away.

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Conference

More Publications