Fourth Meeting of the DS-I Africa Consortium
16 - 22 November 2024

Mr Sabastian Wirsiy Yunkavi - Travel Awardee

Artificial Intelligence assisted echocardiography to facilitate optimal image extraction for congenital heart defects diagnosis in Sub-Saharan Africa (MSc trainee)

Yunkavi Sabastian Wirsiy holds a Master's in Software Engineering from the University of Buea and a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. He is a seasoned computer engineer and researcher with a diverse background in data science, biodiversity informatics, and web development. Currently, Yunkavi works at the Health Research Foundation (HRF) in Cameroon, serving as a Co-Investigator on the Congenital Heart Defects Artificial Intelligence (CHD AI) project, which is part of the DS-I Africa research initiative. His focus is on developing AI-assisted echocardiography tools to improve the diagnosis of congenital heart defects in Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to his role at HRF, Yunkavi gained significant experience in biodiversity informatics with the Tropical Plant Exploration Group (TroPEG). He contributed in the "Mobilization of Biodiversity Data Related to Protected Areas and Threatened Species in Western Cameroon" project, a collaboration with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Here, he was responsible for data capture, cleaning, and management, contributing to the project's success from 2017 to 2019. Yunkavi's commitment to education is reflected in his teaching experience at the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) from 2021 to 2023, where he trained biologists on biodiversity informatics. He also lectured undergraduate engineering courses at the Higher Institute of Management Studies (HIMS) and Biaka University Institute of Cameroon since 2021. In addition, Yunkavi has a strong background in software development, having worked at the Africa Education Network, where he developed automated web-based school management systems. His technical skills span server management, system analysis, and various