Hosts Students at the Annual “Science Day”

Science took over Hostos from November 14 to November 16 as the Annual “Science Day” featured guest speakers, lectures, student poster presentations and other projects all aimed at celebrating the College’s commitment to the discipline. 

The festivities opened with words of congratulations and encouragement from President David Gómez, Provost Christine Mangino, Dean Felix Cardona, the event’s chairperson, Dr. Francisco Fernández, and others for what has become a signature event at Hostos.

The keynote lecture was presented Dr. Kosj Yamoah in front of a packed Hostos Café on November 14. Dr.  Yamoah, who obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Sciences and his Master’s Degree of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Ghana, Legon, before earning his M.D. and Ph.D. Degrees from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, lectured on “Genomic-Based Personalized Medicine -The Way Forward!” Hostos students asked questions and were extremely engaged in what was an educational and entertaining event.

Born in Tema, Ghana. Dr. Yamoah went to high school at Achimota School at the age of seven, where he completed his “Ordinary-” and “Advanced-” level certification. He then entered college at the age of thirteen at the University of Ghana, the youngest student to have ever done so. Later in life, he completed a Radiation Oncology residency at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, where he served as Chief Resident. He also completed a research fellowship in prostate cancer disparities and epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. These educational experiences were enriched by obtaining two competitive grants from the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Department of Defense to carry out work on prostate cancer disparity in men of African descent. Dr. Yamoah’s clinical focus is genitourinary malignancies. Dr. Yamoah is currently an Assistant Professor and Physician Scientist at the H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa FL. Dr. Yamoah’s research focus is on the biologic factors that predispose African American men to higher prostate cancer incidence and mortality; he will use his research findings to inform targeted treatment recommendations in the clinical setting.

Science Day co-chairs were Dr. Damaris-Lois Yamoah Lang, Dr. Anna Manukyan, and Dr. Biao Jiang. Committee members included faculty members Dr. Amanda Bernal-Carlo, Dr. Soheli Chowdhury, Dr. Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Dr. Allison Franzese, Dr. Carmen Inda-García, Dr. John Gillen, Dr. Flor Henderson, Dr. Nelson Nuñez-Rodríguez, Dr. Vladimir Ovtcharenko, Dr. Zvi Ostrin, Prof. Christopher Paskoff, Dr. Van Chanh Phan, Dr. Yoel Rodríguez, Dr. Debasish Roy, Dr. Mohammad Sohel, Dr. Olga Steinberg-Neifach, Dr. Julie Trachman, Dr. Tatsuya Yamada, as well as staff members Franklin Campbell, Ewa Dziobak-Gonczowski, Melody Echavarria, Rina Fontenele, Dane Guerrero, Jaime Lujan, Dora Villa-González, and Karin Contreras.