Allysia Chin

Allysia Chin
Home Institute: McMaster
Supervisor: Molly Shoichet

My name is Allysia Chin, I'm a fourth year Chemical Biology Co-op student at McMaster University, but originally from the diverse, vibrant city of Toronto. Growing up as a biracial individual, my parents always instilled the importance of accepting and embracing people from all backgrounds. Interestingly, this mentality stuck with me throughout university, where I often found myself immersed in labs from a plethora of scientific backgrounds, such as physical chemistry, molecular biology and pathobiology. However, my current research interests involve chemically engineered hydrogels for studying cancer cell invasion, which I am excited to explore in the Shoichet Lab! Outside of the lab, you can find me drawing organic chemistry reaction mechanisms, on the volleyball court or eating salmon avocado rolls.

In the Shoichet Lab, I hope to use my previous lab skills related to chemical and biomedical engineering to continue learning about characterizing hydrogels and how they can be used to mimic cancer cell invasion in vivo. By modelling cancer cell invasion using hydrogel systems that model tissue environments within the body, we can understand how cells are able to metastasize and spread throughout the body, which is something not widely understood. In terms of "soft" skills, I hope to improve my scientific communication and collaboration skills by interacting with my fellow Amgen Scholars, as well as other talented senior scientists within and outside of the Shoichet Lab.

Above all my past research opportunities, I see the Amgen Scholar Program as the biggest asset I could achieve in helping me gain the essential skills and attributes of a prosperous researcher. This program will equip me with the tools needed by a young scientist fazed with the toughest scientific problems of the 21st century and the chance to develop as a scientific professional, especially in scientific communication, which is a very overlooked but vital part of scientific culture.