Yujia Ding graduated from Weinberg College in 2014 from the biological sciences with a concentration in genetics and molecular biology. She also received her MS in Interdepartmental Biological Sciences (IBiS) in 2017. Learn more about what inspired her to pursue biology and her work as a STEM educator.
Why did you decide to come to Northwestern?
I started my educational career at UCLA but always had my heart set on NU. I transferred to Northwestern because of the incredible undergraduate research opportunities the campus has. The minute I set foot on campus, I immersed myself in research. The experience I had in research was transformative. I not only had an incredibly supportive mentor, I learned not only about my research but more about myself as an academic scholar and scientist. Not to mention, the campus is gorgeous, and the surrounding neighborhood of Evanston is welcoming and inviting.
What inspired you to pursue your area of study?
My high school freshmen biology teacher changed my view of biology. I had always wanted to go into accounting and business because that’s what some of my family did and it felt appropriate, a decent 9-5 job for a career. However, the experience I had in B104 was something that I’ll always remember. The unit on genetics, specifically, was what drew me to biology. I ended up falling in love with punnet squares and pedigrees and understanding how our genes determine much of who we are. Since then, I’ve always had a passion for cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics.
What goals do you have for your career? How do you plan to achieve those goals?
I am currently pursuing my doctorate of eduction, where my dissertation will be on exploring accessibility in STEM. I am a STEM educator, teaching high school dual credit biology and as an adjunct professor at a local community college. I teach in an urban district in Texas, where I currently reside. I hope to be able to work with students from minority backgrounds, those that may be disadvantaged, and specifically those with disabilities to ensure they have equal opportunities to pursue STEM. I believe there is so much knowledge out there in underrepresented populations and if we can give them a chance, science can only benefit from differing viewpoints and approaches to problems.
I hope to be able to create academic partnerships between high school and community college campuses and local universities to create STEM opportunities for those that may not otherwise have exposure. I hope to support students who wish to pursue STEM and to help them recognize that there are no barriers to the field. With the experiences I have had with discrimination and barriers due to personal illnesses, I hope to create a small dent in the field of STEM education. With a background and training as a scientist from NU and the completion of my Doctorate of Education in 2022, I can start to combine my two passions together.
How would you describe your research and/or work to a non-academic audience?
My undergraduate research was centered around understanding the structure and function of a key protein in a larger protein complex involved in DNA compaction. In simple terms, the goal of my work was to understand the structure of this protein and how it acted as a scaffold to the larger complex. I had the chance to generate mutations in the gene to probe the effect of the change, which shed light on the actual function of the protein in the cell.
What are you working on right now that excites you the most?
Currently, I am a mentor for Mentor Matching Engine, where I mentor high school students working on independent research projects. It’s been incredibly rewarding to share my research experience and be able to support future scientists. Something else I am looking forward to is hopefully creating a STEM research program at the high school I teach at that allows interested students to partner with local universities to experience what research is like.
Any accomplishments would you like to share?
One of my biggest accomplishments was that I was selected as Rookie of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It was an incredible honor to be recognized by my principal and colleagues for my work in my classroom and to be selected by the district. Another award I received came at the beginning of my transition to education, when I was selected as the Bonnie Reiss Memorial Scholarship recipient, selected by the board of directors of the EnCorps STEM Program, where I am a fellow. This came at the beginning of my career and really showed me that others believe in me and my abilities.
How do you enjoy spending your free time?
In my free time, I love to run. I am always training for a marathon during the year, as I try to run 2-3 a year. I also love to rock climb, specifically lead climbing and top rope. Aside from all this, I love spending time with my two dogs.