Q. What aspects of your MCB degree program best helped you prepare for your career?
A. All of the team teaching that happens at Berkeley helped expose me to many different fields of research within MCB. The emphasis on research at Berkeley encouraged me to go for and do research through the URAP program! The skills I learned in my URAP lab helped me get my first research job after graduation as well as my most recent job. I was directly asked about my research in undergrad during my interview 5 years after I graduated!
Q. How did you decide on your current career path?
A. I’ve been interested in pursuing an MD/PhD program for a while but felt I both needed the extra time off to bolster my application and give myself time to gain real-life experience before I commit to such a long training pathway. After spending a few years in both academic and biotech research after graduating (and completing my Masters of Information and Data Science at Berkeley’s ISchool!), I finally decided I was ready and pulled the trigger to begin the next journey in my career!
Q. Share your favorite Berkeley lunch place, coffee shop, landmark study spot...etc.
A. I always loved studying in the cafe hidden in the top floor of Dwinelle before attending class. On the weekends, the Hidden Cafe by Strawberry Creek Park in North Berkeley is a great place to study or just chill and enjoy the sunshine!