Nana Gyabaah-Kessie, BS

Hey hey! My name is Nana Gyabaah-Kessie, and I'm a first year PIBBS student. Born in Ghana, my family and I immigrated to the US about 24 years ago, and I've spent most of my life in Beltsville, Maryland, sort of equidistant to both Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. I spent my undergrad years at the University of Pittsburgh (#Hail2Pitt!), where I majored in Molecular Biology. After graduating, I spent 3 years at the NIH (Bethesda, MD campus) completing a research-intensive post-baccalaureate program and diving a little into program and project management. Life has thrown a lot of curveballs my way, but I think of it as God's way of strengthening my faith and preparing me for the many successes coming my way. Outside of the lab, I love to give back to my community - whether through serving my church as a youth leader, acting as a mentor and tutor to those who aspire to delve into the scientific realm, or giving my little sister advice on anything and everything - watch sports, listen to music and try new foods. With this being my first time on the West Coast, I'm super excited to explore all that my PhD experience and the city of LA has to offer me! #FightOn!