Ayan the synthetic biologist. Ayan the photographer. Ayan the entrepreneur. Ayan the technical writer. Ayan (the very cool) big sister... etc.

Just as any person does, I have come to wear a few different hats over the years. Some journey's were more intentional than others. I was quite sure I wanted to be a part of the scientific community academically when I enrolled in the biology program at the University of Waterloo (UW). Unbeknownst to me, this is where I would enter the world of synthetic biology. Needless to say I was taken with it all. So much so that I represented UW's iGEM team in my second year of undergrad, which then gave me the opportunity to lead the team as project director in my third year. A happy consequence of my experience in iGEM was meeting the group of people that I would go on to co-found a cell cryopreservation biotech startup with (formerly known as Acorn Cryotech). I began to realize that as much as I planned my life, half of the battle was just being open to wherever these experiences lead you.

As I loosened my grip on what I thought I needed to do, I continued to meet and work with amazing people. Some of these amazing people reside here at the CRI, and I have the privilege of pursuing my PhD as I benefit from their diverse pools of knowledge, unreserved mentorship and genuine friendship. I can't say exactly where my newest hat will lead me, but I am proud to wear it: Ayan the PhD student tackling antibiotic resistance through the lens of synthetic biology.