Q&A with Nada Ibrahim 🔬

Welcome to the Invite Health newsletter. These newsletters will contain a roundup of student opportunities related to Canadian healthcare, including jobs, organizations, events, and more! We also highlight and interview students making an impact in Canadian healthcare. 💌

This week, meet Nada! 📬

In this newsletter, I reached out to Nada Ibrahim, to ask about their summer research experience at McGill’s Biomedical Research Accelerator (MBRA) Program. Read through our discussion here, to learn about the impactful work that she did!

Q&A with Nada I, Summer Research Student at McGill’s Biomedical Research Accelerator (MBRA) 🔬

First off, tell us about yourself! What inspired you to enter your current field of study, where do you go to school, and what are your aspirations? What else do you like to do outside of studying? 

Hi! I’m Nada Ibrahim (she/her) and I’m in my fourth (and final) year of Honours Biochemistry at McMaster University. I’ve always been passionate about the sciences and chose Biochemistry as my major because I was interested in learning about the mechanistic aspects of how organisms and biological processes function on a molecular level. Ironically, however, I never wanted to pursue a Bachelor’s of Sciences. I’ve always wanted to pursue Engineering, yet my family didn’t approve when I was in high school. I enjoy applying the sciences rather than simply learning concepts and theory, which is why I have been pursuing research in Chemical/Biomedical Engineering. After I graduate, I’m hoping to pursue a Master’s of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering, but unsure yet what to do after it! Outside of my academic life, I enjoy photography (check out @theartsybiokhemist on Instagram!), hiking, painting, playing the piano, and writing.

What experience are you going to highlight in this newsletter?

From May to mid August of this summer, I was a part of the paid McGill Biomedical Research Accelerator (MBRA) Internship at McGill University. Launched this past summer, the MBRA Internship is intended for primarily third year undergraduate students who demonstrate a strong interest in research in the Biomedical Sciences. As an MBRA Intern, I was a part of the Biomat’X Lab, where I learned a variety of new lab techniques in Biomedical Engineering and nanomedicine. My research project was focused on working with human mesenchymal stem cells to engineer the extracellular vesicles that they release to target gene delivery for the treatment of osteoarthritis. 

How did you come across this opportunity?

In my BIOCHEM 3D03 course which I took in Fall 2021, my professor posted an announcement on Avenue to advertise the internship. I then got in touch with the internship’s coordinator to ask questions and attend the info session.

What were some of the most notable highlights that you had from the experience? 

I had multiple notable highlights from this experience. I learned that research is an interdisciplinary and collaborative process, rather than individual. My lab’s environment was conducive to discussion, troubleshooting, and problem solving in a cooperative manner, which helped me learn a lot and encouraged me to help others after I received training. Further, I found that as challenging as research can be, it is so rewarding when you finally succeed in an experiment after having had failed attempts. It taught me the importance of adjusting protocols to cater them to your experiments to obtain the desired outcomes. 

Did this experience lead you to pursue any other related opportunities? 

Not other opportunities necessarily (yet) but I am currently in the process of applying for a Master’s degree at McGill!

Where can students go if they want to learn more about this program?

Website: mcgill.ca/sbms/summer-program

My LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nada-ib/

Is there anything else that you would like to add for Invite Health readers?

Completely unrelated to what my feature is about, but I recommend that you take a Bioethics course! It truly helps you see perspectives in difficult ethical dilemmas in healthcare and learn to think more critically. 

About Invite Health 💌

Invite Health is on a mission is to invite students to learn and participate in Canadian healthcare.

We write newsletters that feature a roundup of student opportunities (jobs, events, organizations, etc.) related to Canadian healthcare. We also interview students making an impact in Canadian healthcare.

More exciting things are coming soon, so stay tuned! 👀

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