ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GABA Inc., a product of Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X Startup Launch initiative, today announced the availability of its technology platform designed to make it easier and less expensive for medical students to connect with the specific resources that are right for them and succeed in their training.
“COVID-19 has cast new light on the glaring shortage of physicians around the world. In the United States, for example, we lose about 3,000 of our medical students from each year’s entering class due to challenges identifying supportive communities and effective study tools. We are losing a wealth of potential medical talent that our world desperately needs,” said Dr. Erica Sutton, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and associate professor, Morehouse Healthcare.
Based on innovative machine learning techniques, GABA connects medical trainees at any level of study with the ideal educational resources, schools and personalized career development for them. A GABA subscriber completes six assessments that are used to determine that student’s unique “cognitive thumbprint,” and GABA’s novel algorithm tailors resource recommendations to that particular student. GABA subscriptions are available in four tiers and offer varied packages of services including digital portfolios, CV/resume generation, learning assessments, residency applicant databases, rotation/residency reviews and one-on-one coaching.
“GABA helps medical students train more successfully and less expensively—and, in turn, contributes to offsetting the global physician shortage,” said GABA CEO and co-founder Candice Blacknall, recently selected for Diversity Journal’s first class of Black Leaders Worth Watching award winners. “I was an MD candidate who found herself overwhelmed with trying to navigate all of the hard choices that a person must make in medical school. Students often lose their passion for their learning and their work, for reasons that have nothing to do with how promising of prospects they are for performing medicine. GABA is a fundamentally new tool for helping talent shine.”
Blacknall and co-founder Chima Odinkemere are students in a joint, five-year dual degree program offered by Morehouse School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business. They were accepted into Georgia Tech’s CREATE-X initiative, designed to instill entrepreneurial confidence in students and empower them to launch successful startups. Blacknall and Odinkemere received grants and coaching from experienced entrepreneurs and business faculty, mentorship from industry veterans, legal and accounting services and access to investors. They founded GABA in 2020, have built a team of professionals and are pursuing funding to expand service offerings.
Recognized as a trailblazer in breaking barriers to healthcare through technological innovation and clinical leadership, Blacknall was named among 53 winners of the first-ever Diversity Journal Black Leaders Worth Watching awards in 2020. She was honored for leading and mentoring others, excelling in her chosen field and advancing diversity and inclusion.
About GABA
GABA—founded by medical students for medical students—is the first verified community for medical students and graduates of medical school. Based on innovative machine learning techniques and its assessment of students’ “cognitive thumbprints,” GABA delivers personalized career development for medical trainees. For more information, please visit https://gogaba.co.
