Her Story
About Jazmin
My path to bioengineering started in Hayward, California, where I was born and raised in the Bay Area. In high school, my AP biology teacher encouraged me to apply to a Genentech internship in San Mateo focused on cancer research and biotechnology, and I absolutely loved it. When I went to college, I actually applied as an art major because I love to paint, but once I started taking general education courses, I fell in love with chemistry. My chemistry professor, Nicole Adelstein, became a pivotal mentor who would sit with me for hours walking me through lessons. She offered me a position in her computational biochemistry lab and told me about another Genentech fellowship. At the time, I was working 4 jobs to pay for school, including teaching a supplemental course at SF State, working at a law firm, and working at Sephora where I could combine my love of art and makeup with learning about chemistry. The Genentech fellowship funded me so I could focus on research while still going to school. Through Nicole, I learned what a PhD was and how to apply. When I applied to 15 schools, someone told me that 'people like you don't really get into PhD programs' and suggested I apply to master's programs instead, which I couldn't afford at $100,000 a year. Nicole told me to ignore that advice, and I ended up getting into the top programs, not my safety schools. My research focus is heart preservation and cryobiology, a field that was dying before 5 years ago with the last major papers published in the 1970s and 1980s. My principal investigator was an innovator in cryobiology and had an interesting project that I took on. Now, having just completed my PhD, I'm one of the 1% of PhDs who are Latina women, and I'm incredibly grateful to have finished when I've watched about 4 other Latina women in these programs be forced to drop out due to difficult advisors or life circumstances.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jazmin
01What do you attribute your success to?
I genuinely believe that without a lot of the women in my life who were helping guide me and just overall support me throughout since literally high school, I would not be in the position that I am. One of the biggest pieces of advice that I got at the beginning was to treat everyone with kindness, because you never know who's going to be able to help you in the future, and I live by that. My AP biology teacher in high school made me apply to a Genentech internship that sparked my love for biotechnology. My chemistry professor Nicole Adelstein sat with me for hours teaching me, offered me a lab position, taught me what a PhD was, and when someone told me that people like me don't get into PhD programs, she told me that was ridiculous and gave me resources to succeed. The Genentech fellowships and NSF fellowship gave me opportunities that weren't accessible to most people and allowed me to stop working 4 jobs so I could focus on research. I'm very grateful to all of those people and programs that supported me along the way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The biggest piece of advice I got at the beginning was to treat everyone with kindness, because you never know who's going to be able to help you in the future. I live by that philosophy because I genuinely believe that without a lot of the women in my life who were helping guide me and support me since literally high school, I would not be in the position that I am today. This advice has proven true throughout my journey, from my high school AP biology teacher who made me apply to internships, to my chemistry professor Nicole Adelstein who mentored me for hours and opened doors to research opportunities, to the many other women who supported me when others doubted me.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
One of the biggest pieces of advice I would give is to treat everyone with kindness, because you never know who's going to be able to help you in the future. I genuinely believe that without a lot of the women in my life who were helping guide me and support me since literally high school, I would not be in the position that I am today. Build those relationships and accept help from mentors who believe in you. When I was told that people like me, as a low-income Latina, don't really get into PhD programs, I had mentors like Nicole Adelstein who told me that was ridiculous and gave me the resources and confidence to apply anyway. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't belong in science. I ended up getting into the top programs, not my safety schools, and now I'm part of the 1% of PhDs who are Latina women.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Right now, we're in the worst climate for science. The current administration has defunded about 60% of science funding, so something that we would have been able to get a grant for, like a couple million dollars ago, the chances went from 30% likelihood to about 3% likelihood. There are actually a lot of labs that are currently closing, and when these labs close, all of those students and professors lose their livelihood and their ability to even be able to finish school. Beyond funding challenges, another major issue is that only 1% of current PhDs are Latina women, and throughout my entire PhD program, I've watched about 4 other Latina women who were in these programs be forced to drop out, whether it was because of their boss being very mean, because some of these people can be very mean when they know that you rely on them, or just life circumstances that get in the way and they have to prioritize something else over school.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · California
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.