Meet Fatima Alabbas — Business Development

When we keep our curiosity alive, we will continue to explore new avenues, open new doors, and pursue pathways we have never even considered.

It has been my nature to be curious for as long as I can remember. As a child, I was fascinated by learning about how the world around me worked. It wasn’t uncommon for me to ask my parents and teachers many questions during preschool, ranging from “how a caterpillar became a butterfly?” to “why baking soda and vinegar made bubbles?” I probably asked too many… given that most of my teachers’ comments were that I was “a chatterbox” and “I asked a lot of questions”. Although it may have been at times annoying, I am so thankful for my parents and teachers’ patience and effort in answering my questions. I am convinced that this has helped form my belief that it’s good to be curious.

Curiosity and a desire to take on challenges fueled my passion for science.

Science has always been one of my favorite subjects in school. The more I learnt about science, the more questions I had and the more I wanted to challenge myself to discover. In high school, I enjoyed pushing myself in science courses and experiments. My interest in biology started with dissection labs in grade 11. I remember exploring respiration by inflating a cow lung with a shop vacuum and thinking, “Yes, this is it… This is what I want to continue learning”. I was also very much interested in environmental science and chemistry. So much so, I made an eco-friendly, effective winter ice salt melter with two teammates in grade 12 that placed third in the life science category at the Thames Valley Science and Engineering Fair.

When I took part in a project at the Min Lab in my senior year of high school involving the validation of TdIF1 as a potential lung cancer oncogene using bioinformatics and bench science, I knew with certainty that I wanted to pursue a medical science degree at Western University.

Finding the missing piece.

My third year as a medical science student brought many realizations regarding my interests. In hopes of improving artificial reproductive technology, I conducted a research project with three other students on the impact of FSH on cumulus cell expansion and progression to metaphase II.

As much as I enjoyed conducting our experiment and gained a great deal of knowledge, I found going on stage and presenting our results to professors and other students most rewarding. From this experience I knew I wanted to pursue a career in science with a big emphasis on communication.

Towards the end of my third year, I was STEM Camp’s London-Fanshawe camp manager. Though I joined this camp because of my love for STEM, and my desire to motivate London’s youth to pursue STEM, establishing personal relationships with the campers and their families, so that they felt comfortable giving me honest feedback and decided to continue enrolling, was particularly fulfilling.

Image: Ziplining in British Columbia (I’m glad I didn’t drop my phone taking this).

In light of these two experiences, I realized that a business and scientific field is something I would like to explore, and ultimately prompted me to apply for InsideScientific’s Business Development Internship position. I am thrilled to be joining InsideScientific, and I look forward to shedding light on novel research solutions to accelerate science!

Outside of work, I enjoy watching true crime documentaries, singing musical numbers, and participating in outdoor adventures. Among my favorite activities are ziplining through Blackcomb mountains and rafting through rapids (fingers crossed I can raft a class 5 whitewater soon!).