Nishant
He/Him
I am gay and I am a biology undergraduate student.//
I first discovered my love for the sciences in a high-school biology class. We were learning about DNA; the teacher asked me to give a presentation on DNA structure. “A single DNA strand, fully stretched, can extend all the way to the moon”, I said, prompting the classroom to erupt into laughter. Ever since that mistake, my passion towards genetics and molecular biology has only grown. In the Sanger sequencing lab at Strand-Life-Sciences, I learnt how to identify single-nucleotide substitutions while inculcating many common mol-bio techniques. I subsequently utilised this knowledge in a project on 16SrRNA gene sequencing to identify bacteria in soil samples and yogurt cultures. I am currently working on exploring the effects of temperature and carbon source on the persistence of phenotypic memory in E. coli. While I am fortunate to have not hit any roadblocks yet, I recognise how difficult it can be to fellow queer scientists to find success in their careers. To raise awareness about queer issues and also share stories with other people from the community, I co-created a support group at my university called Queer Space. The future will soon be here, and it’ll be queer!