Two U of T Biomedical Engineering students named 2026 Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellows
Two doctoral students from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the University of Toronto have been named 2026 Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellows, a program that supports graduate researchers in developing public-facing scholarship initiatives.
May 21, 2026
Two doctoral students from the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the University of Toronto have been named 2026 Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellows, a program that supports graduate researchers in developing public-facing scholarship initiatives.
Ferdinand (Reke) Avikpe and Sajida Chowdhury are among the University of Toronto doctoral students selected for this year’s cohort. The fellowship program, offered through the School of Graduate Studies, provides funding and training to support projects that engage audiences beyond academia and communicate the broader impact of research.
The Connaught PhDs for Public Impact Fellowship Program offers selected PhD students the opportunity to design and implement initiatives that connect their research with the public. These initiatives may include collaborations with community organizations, public-facing tools, or other forms of knowledge exchange intended to make research more accessible and relevant outside the university.
As part of the program, fellows receive support to advance a public scholarship project alongside their doctoral work and participate in programming focused on communication, engagement, and professional development.
Reke Avikpe is developing an interactive, web-based educational tool that helps people understand how decisions made in stem cell production affect the cost, scale, and accessibility of new medical treatments. By allowing users to adjust simple inputs and see how outcomes change, the tool makes complex scientific and manufacturing processes easier to understand. He will also run workshops with youth and underrepresented groups, using the tool as a hands-on way to explore how research decisions shape real-world healthcare access, with the goal of making biomedical science more transparent and accessible.
Sajida Chowdhury’s project focuses on an early and often overlooked form of heart disease that affects the body’s smallest blood vessels and can develop before symptoms appear, particularly in women. She is creating a community-based program in Toronto that combines simple health education with activities like yoga or dance to help people understand how blood flow supports the body and how everyday factors such as exercise, sleep, and stress influence heart health, with the goal of improving awareness and prevention through clear, accessible information.
“Congratulations to Ferdinand Avikpe and Sajida Chowdhury on this outstanding achievement,” said Professor Milos Popovic, Director of the Institute. “Their selection reflects the strength of our graduate students and their commitment to connecting research with broader communities.”
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