Sanna Gaspard

Biomedical engineer Sanna Gaspard, a Ph.D. candidate at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, is founder and CEO of TLneoCare, LLC, a start-up company focusing on developing and commercializing a neonatal message unit to aid infants born prematurely. The company is in the process of raising capital for prototyping, FDA classification and clinical testing. Her doctoral research is focused on designing a diagnostic tool for stage 1 pressure ulcers.

For her research in ways to improve the survival rate of premature babies and other work she was chosen by IEEE as a 2010 Engineers Week "New Face of Engineering."

The New Faces of Engineering recognition program is sponsored by the National Engineers Week Foundation, a coalition of engineering societies, major corporations and government agencies. The program highlights the vitality, diversity and rich contributions of engineers under 30.

Ms. Gaspard is the GOLD (Graduate of the Last Decade) representative to the IEEE Instrumentation & Measurement Society. She is also a member of IEEE's Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, and founded the Graduate Biomedical Engineering Society at Carnegie Mellon.

A native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Ms. Gaspard had initially wanted to be a neonatologist, but she was uncomfortable working in a hospital environment. But, her natural drive to deconstruct objects and her love for the sciences that began as a young child prompted her to continue her pursuit of a biomedical engineering degree.

Ms. Gaspard earned her bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering at the University of Miami in Miami, Fla., before landing at Carnegie Mellon in August 2004 to pursue a graduate degree in biomedical engineering, and to continue her pursuit of the design and development of novel medical devices and instruments that can improve patient care.