This week’s Wednesday’s Women in STEM series features Shai Waldrip, a graduate student studying breast cancer genes. Read on to hear how Shai is involved with the Data Science and Bioethics Clubs in her area while also working to finish up her PhD.
When did you first become interested in STEM?
I can’t remember the exact age I became interested in STEM; however, I remember how! As a young child, I was sitting in front of my TV flipping through channels, and then I came across the Animal Planet channel. I loved watching their documentary-style shows about animals. I soon discovered the Discovery Channel. I did some research and found out about the term “biology”, and that was it for me!
Where did you go to school and what did you study?
For my undergraduate degree, I got my B.S. in Biology with a concentration in Cell Biology & Biotechnology from Georgia Gwinnett College. For my graduate degree, I am one semester away from receiving my Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from Morehouse School of Medicine, focusing on oncology (triple-negative breast cancer) and bioinformatics.
I have a lot of interesting stories! In my junior year of undergrad, I had to sign up for a genetics course. I had heard it was a very difficult course, and the only time available was for a 2-hour and 45-minute class. For one project, we attempted to identify unlabeled fish fins we were given using a bioinformatics approach. I found out my fin came from a rainbowfish! This, including a separate bioinformatics course, led to my interest in genetics and bioinformatics.
Another story – this time in grad school – involves my interest in oncology. I came to my current institution with the goal of studying ovarian cancer in mind, since many cases are discovered when the cancer has metastasized (meaning that it’s spread to other parts of the body), as a lot of early-stage cases are asymptomatic (meaning that it shows no symptoms). I thought this was extremely concerning, so I wanted to be a part of the solution somehow; however, a biochemistry lab course in my first semester changed my direction.
In the month of October (breast cancer awareness month), we were told that we were going to be working with triple-negative breast cancer cells. I was so confused – what is triple-negative breast cancer? We had to write a very long lab report, but I found myself focusing the most on the introduction. Why was I writing so much? I paused and thought to myself “oh, it must be because I find this interesting. I probably should pursue studying this”, so I did!
What is your current career and how do you use your interests in STEM on a day-to-day basis?
I am currently on the road to finishing up my Ph.D., but I use my interests in STEM every day! I am always on PubMed reading about current literature associated with triple-negative breast cancer to keep up-to-date with my knowledge.
I am also the President of the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Data Science club here in Atlanta, GA. Our goal is to spread awareness (and our passion) about data science. We have grown to over 80 members! We’ve worked with companies such as Johnson & Johnson, adyn, NASA, Mozilla, Stanford University, the National Science Foundation, etc. in order to promote science and technology to our members so that they can gain knowledge about how to apply data science in various fields, and how they can get involved in this exciting field as well!
I am also the Vice President of our new Bioethics club at my school. Our club is committed to understanding, exercising, and influencing ethical decisions in medicine and biomedical research. We also would like to improve diversity in bioethics, improve exposure to various career opportunities, and influence club members to make, or continue making, ethical decisions in their professional and personal lives.
What do you like most about your current job? What do you find most challenging?
The thing I like the most about being a Ph.D. candidate is the opportunities to learn more. There’s a vast amount of information out there, and knowing how to obtain that is an invaluable skill. I also enjoy networking due to my clubs – getting to know more people, learning about their interests and disinterests, and gaining more opportunities has been such a fun experience. The most challenging experience has been trying to work at 100% all the time; however, I feel very blessed to be able to pursue my dreams and inspire other people to continue theirs.
What advice would you give to young girls who are interested in pursuing STEM activities or careers?
I would tell them to never let go of their dreams and to keep going, even when things feel impossible. There is no such thing as “perfection”, and believing in that will only hold you back. (Un)fortunately, life doesn’t have a straight path – there are a lot of twists and curves, but sometimes, those curves may just be the thing that you didn’t know you were looking for!
Anything else our girls or their parents would be interested in knowing about you?
My academic interests include oncology (breast cancer), genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, data science, precision medicine, and health disparities. In my spare time, I like riding my bike, listening to music, finding great bubble tea places (I had an AMAZING Strawberry Matcha Latte recently at Unbeliebubble!), and I’ve also recently traveled to Little Rock, Arkansas – it was so much fun!