Ngozi D. Akingbesote, Ph.D.

Ngozi has worked across several sectors within the life sciences industry, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices and diagnostics. As a doctoral candidate and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam Fellow at Yale School of Medicine, she led projects involving transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to evaluate therapeutic responses in breast cancer models. Her internship with a multi-national pharmaceutical corporation further deepened her experience in RNA therapeutics and developing a better understanding of oligonucleotide-based therapies.

Ngozi’s experience includes digital health technologies gained through her venture work with whyMED, a software as a service (SaaS) platform designed to improve medication adherence using behavioral insights and data-driven engagement. This venture, piloted at Yale Pharmacy, reflects her commitment to integrating healthcare innovation with patient-centered technology.

Ngozi’s work intersects with nanotechnology, demonstrated by her co-authored publication on 225Ac-doped nanoparticles for targeted alpha therapy, and chemical sciences, through her radiopharmaceutical research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Her artificial intelligence (AI) training roles with life science-focused platforms also connect her to the AI and machine learning (ML) sectors, where she contributed to model development and data labeling strategies for life sciences applications.

Ngozi is passionate about bridging biomedical research and IP law to support innovation in biotech and pharma. Her interdisciplinary background positions her to contribute meaningfully to IP strategy across a range of high-impact industries. Ngozi has completed advanced training in patent law through the Casimir Jones Life Sciences Patent Academy and Finnegan IP University, gaining hands-on experience in patent drafting and prosecution, IP strategy, and freedom-to-operate (FTO) analysis. Ngozi earned her doctorate in cellular and molecular physiology from Yale University, where her research focused on metabolic scaling and immune-metabolism in breast cancer systems using multi-omics approaches. She also holds a B.S. in biology as well as a minor in anthropology from the University of Virginia.