Fischell Institute Fellow Spotlight: Amal Isaiah

Amal Isaiah joined the Fischell Institute faculty as a Fischell Fellow in Spring 2022. His primary appointment is at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where he is a Pediatric Otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor) with the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Isaiah is developing intellectual property shared between the Baltimore and College Park campuses. He has worked closely with Fischell Institute Fellow Giuliano Scarcelli (BIOE) since 2018 and has forged collaborations with Fischell Foundry members Martha Wang, Kevin Aroom, and John Rzasa. Isaiah noted that the Fischell Foundry has been instrumental in enabling him to spend more time on the College Park campus and in providing Baltimore with engineering expertise and technical support.

Isaiah’s laboratory is investigating the neural basis of the detrimental effects of snoring and sleep apnea in children. He is also involved in various medical device development efforts, especially in using portable respiratory devices for measuring sleep parameters. Isaiah’s current focus is developing a portable device that can track eye pressure; he and Scarcelli are currently in the data validation process for their prototype.

“The interface with the engineering community at College Park helps me to bring ideas to life,” Isaiah said. “We [at the Baltimore campus] are excited that our partnership has brought solutions to real-world problems and will hopefully train and educate our students to do the same.”

In the future, Isaiah would like to work on the development of respiratory technologies, smartphone-based applications, home-based sensors, cost-effective alternatives to existing technologies, refinement of surgical tools, and improved training methods. Outside work, Isaiah plays the violin and enjoys watching movies, listening to music, and spending time with his family.

Published January 4, 2023