Yaas is a second year PhD student in Electrical Engineering working on translating benchtop biochemical protocols onto a digital microfluidic platform. Yaas has a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering and spent two years between degrees developing diagnostic assays at a small forensics testing company. She is passionate about outreach activities for minorities in STEM. This past year, Yaas worked with Women in Mathematics to engage and encourage middle school girls in Durham to pursue STEM related careers.