Career Conversations: Q & A with Biomolecular Engineer Markita Landry

Dr. Markita Landry. Credit: Vilcek Foundation. “I have a hard time envisioning a career more exciting than science. It’s really magical to see an experimental result and, for a moment, be the only person in the universe to know something about the world,” says Markita Landry, Ph.D., an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. In an interview, Dr. Landry shares with us her scientific journey, research with nanoparticles, and interests outside of the lab. Q: What sparked your interest in science? A: I was indirectly exposed to science growing up because my mom was in computer science, but I think moving to the United States is what made me very interested in it. My mother is Bolivian; my father is French-Canadian; and I grew up mostly in Quebec, Canada. When I was halfway through high school, we moved to the United States, and, for the first time, my classes were taught in English. I really gravitated to math and science because they made sense regardless of the language they were taught in. I went on to attend college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was a premed major for about 2 hours. After my first introductory biology lecture, I switched to a dual degree in chemistry and physics. To me, the biological sciences seemed too complex, whereas physics and chemistry were clean, simple, and beautifully explained with math. But my curiosity about biology persisted. Q: How d...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Being a Scientist Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Profiles Source Type: blogs