Jasmin Joseph: "I love the idea of making an impact on global health"
MISTI student brings positivity, determination to life-saving biology research.
“Long term, it’s about being able to take what I learned and share it and make sure that people have access to the information that they need to be able to make the decisions that are the best for them and the people they care about. I like the idea of writing and communicating the things that are important to the world.”
—Jasmin Joseph, MIT Senior, BioEngineering and MISTI student
During her sophomore year, biological engineering major Jasmin Joseph needed her wisdom teeth removed. Her softball coach drove Joseph to and from her appointment and left her with one instruction: Don’t come to practice today.
But Joseph, a Woodland Hills, California, native who had played softball since the age of 13, was determined not to miss practice. She showed up anyway, and though not allowed to play, happily watched her teammates from the bench. Her dedication was no surprise to those who know her: Joseph, now a senior, has brought that same determination to all her activities, both academic and service-based.
During high school, Joseph developed a deep fascination with biology — specifically how it could be used to develop life-saving treatments for rare diseases. During an AP biology class, she watched “Lorenzo’s Oil,” a 1992 retelling of the real-life story of a family’s quest to develop a treatment for their son’s adrenoleukodystrophy, which causes damage to the nervous system.
“I just remember thinking that it was super cool that they could actually correct for a disease,” Joseph says. She realized she wanted to help develop those types of treatments, but she wasn’t sure what she’d have to study to accomplish that. Then she spoke with a teacher who had a background in genetic engineering. After learning more about synthetic biology, Joseph had found her match: biological engineering. With that goal in mind, Joseph began to look at different schools.
Read the complete story at MIT News
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