People

Jiaji is from Hamilton and is going into her second year of undergraduate studies at McMaster University. After having grown into and out of a handful of aspirations, her most current and persistent goal is to become a pediatrician. Jiaji is a literature fanatic and a leisurely pianist. She is also a self-proclaimed apple connoisseur; her knowledge about the colours, shapes and textures of different apple species can be quite eccentric!

"Fun Fact: I can recite the alphabet backwards. Background: I owe this talent to Mrs. Nadine Wilkes, my pleasant fifth grade teacher. Mrs. Wilkes organized weekly competitions and took the lucky winners out to lunch on Fridays. In grade five, fast-food-Fridays were of extreme importance. Thus, I dutifully completed the tasks and still remember the backwards ABCs to this day."

My project is anchored in the field of biosensors. The objective is to select a DNAzyme that binds c-di-GMP or c-di-AMP and subsequently generate a fluorescent signal.

• 2010 CAW National Bursary
• 2010 Miller Thompson National Scholarship