The beginning of the fall semester offers a wonderful chance to engage with our new graduate students about their aspirations and motivations. Two of our students have shared insights on their research goals, their passion for chemistry, and the reasons they chose to study at U of T. Here’s what they had to say..
Sascha Woolcott
Sascha is from nearby Guelph, Ontario, but she completed her undergraduate degree in bio-organic chemistry at McGill University in the wonderful city of Montreal. She is looking forward to working with Professors Haissi Cui and Landon Edgar at the St. George Campus on RNA chemistry and protein glycosylation.
Area of Study: Bio-organic Chemistry
What branch of chemistry do you specialize in, and how did you come to choose it?
I specialize in bio-organic chemistry. I came to choose this area because I enjoy the puzzle-solving that is a part of organic chemistry and I think that biological chemistry has many important applications in terms of the environment and human health..
What are you looking forward to most as you began your graduate studies here at U of T?
I am looking forward to jumping into my own project, but also to taking in all of the exciting research that is happening at U of T. There is so much progress being made, and I am lucky to be involved in a small part of it!
Were there any surprises when you began?
I have yet to begin my studies, so no surprises yet! But I am excited to see what comes my way!
Kimia Hosseini
Kimia completed her BSc at the University of British Columbia in Chemistry honours. During her undergraduate, she worked in Professor Mehrkhodavandi and Schafer's research labs on indium and zirconium based organometallics chemistry and mechanism elucidations. Afterwards, she worked as an organic chemist at a pharmaceutical company for two years and has now decided to go back to school to learn more exciting chemistry!
Area of Study: Materials and polymers chemistry,
Working with: Professor Dwight Seferos
What branch of chemistry do you specialize in, and how did you come to choose it?
My experience in chemistry is mostly focused on organometallic and organic chemistry; however, I will be exploring material and polymer chemistry in graduate school, which is a new area for me. I love making new molecules and materials and always find the relationship between molecular properties and real-life applications fascinating, which is where synthetic and material chemistry meet.
What did you look forward to most as you began your graduate studies here at U of T?
I am looking forward to learning about an area of chemistry that's new to me, connecting with great researchers, and exploring a new city!
Have there been any surprises so far?
I was surprised how different my chemistry research background is from the type of chemistry I’ll be doing in graduate school and how there is so much cool chemistry to learn.