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Kejah Bascon’s path to pursuing a PhD in engineering at the University of Toronto – where she aims to design better neurosurgical tools – had many twists and turns.   

Born and raised in Ottawa, she spent much of her primary and secondary education in homeschooling before enrolling in a public high school for her final year to help simplify her transition to university.  

“I had wanted to study biomedical engineering for my undergraduate degree, but I worked a lot during high school to support myself – and so I wasn’t able to manage all the prerequisites with my circumstances,” Bascon says.

“I was quite hard on myself, but I knew I would find a way to make it work.”  

Bascon ultimately completed her undergraduate degree in cognitive psychology at Carleton University, where she also minored in neuroscience. She then spent three months in medical school abroad before returning to Ottawa to complete her master’s degree in neuroscience.   

“I’ve aspired to be a neurosurgeon since childhood, and since then, my ambitions have expanded to include applying engineering to neurosurgical practice to innovate surgical tools and technologies,” she says.   

“I realized that my path wasn’t going to be as linear as I thought when I first fell in love with the brain and the responsibility of holding a person’s whole consciousness in one’s hands.”  

Bascon is one of the 2024 recipients of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering’s , which provide financial support, mentorship, training and networking opportunities to reduce systemic barriers for entry into academia for members of underrepresented groups.  

While Bascon is still planning the direction of her PhD research, she aims to make robotic surgical tools more user-friendly for neurosurgeons by employing engineering principles and a human factors approach.  

Improving robotic-assisted neurosurgical tools such as the endoscope can help reduce the cognitive load on neurosurgeons and prevent musculoskeletal injuries following repeated long surgical procedures.  

Bascon will be working under the supervision of Myrtede Alfred, an assistant professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering, to achieve her research goals.  

“I never had a Black TA or a Black professor before coming to U of T,” says Bascon, “and now I get to benefit from mentorship and leadership from a Black woman.

“It has only been a few weeks, but I already feel so much support for my academic journey from Professor Alfred.”  

As an IBET fellow, Bascon says she is especially looking forward to taking advantage of all the opportunities to gain professional development, expand her academic and professional network and give back her time as a mentor.  

“I’m beyond thankful to receive this support for my PhD journey,” she says. “I hope I can offer an example for others like me, who are from low-income, underrepresented communities, who may have trouble seeing themselves on a university campus.  

“I was once in that position too – of not having the right representation. If I can set an example for others, I want to show that this is what an engineer can look like, and this is what an engineer’s background can look like.”