So, disease prevention became his primary focus, leading Appiah on a quest beyond clinical practice. He earned a master’s of public health and doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Louisville. Appiah’s research took a detour through cardiovascular disease, but came full circle when one of his students approached him with a potential research project.

Watching his grandmother deal with multiple ocular diseases for more than 16 years motivated Noah De La Cruz, MPH, (Biomedical Sciences ’20) to look into ocular disease. While enrolled in the Masters of Public Health Program, De La Cruz approached Appiah, his faculty adviser, about his interest. “Dr. Appiah worked in cardiovascular diseases, so I wasn’t sure if he would be interested in an ocular disease research project — I had no idea he had been an optometrist in a past life!”