Giulia Gobbi's Bio: I am currently a 3rd year student at the St George Campus, specializing in Biological Chemistry. I am an international student from Hong Kong and was honoured to be awarded the International Scholars award by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Currently, I am extremely excited to be working with Professor Jonathan Abbatt and postdoc XinKe Wang on an independent research project to further understand the auto-oxidation processes of chemicals in an indoor environment.
Outside of the lab, I volunteer for the Kintore College WEEKdays program as a tutor, a program which provides high school female students with tutoring in various subjects. There my role is to foster confidence in their academic abilities and help them pursue better future opportunities. I have also recently joined the Second-Year Learning Community team as a peer mentor for incoming second year students in chemistry programs, a position which I look forward to starting in the coming school year. As a nature lover, I love to spend most of my free time outdoors, running, biking, hiking, skiing, and even scuba diving! Program: 3rd Year Biological Chemistry specialist
Campus & Department: St. George Chemistry
Bio: I am currently a 3rd year student at the St George Campus, specializing in Biological Chemistry. I am an international student from Hong Kong and was honoured to be awarded the International Scholars award by the Faculty of Arts and Science. Currently, I am extremely excited to be working with Professor Jonathan Abbatt and postdoc XinKe Wang on an independent research project to further understand the auto-oxidation processes of chemicals in an indoor environment.
Outside of the lab, I volunteer for the Kintore College WEEKdays program as a tutor, a program which provides high school female students with tutoring in various subjects. There my role is to foster confidence in their academic abilities and help them pursue better future opportunities. I have also recently joined the Second-Year Learning Community team as a peer mentor for incoming second year students in chemistry programs, a position which I look forward to starting in the coming school year. As a nature lover, I love to spend most of my free time outdoors, running, biking, hiking, skiing, and even scuba diving!
We asked:
Where did your interest in chemistry come from? My interest in chemistry was largely inspired by my amazing high school chemistry teacher Ms Rines. During outdoor excursions, she would often illustrate the chemistry behind our surroundings, highlighting many real-world applications of chemistry, thus emphasizing its underappreciated ubiquity in natural processes. Furthermore, her support in my academics (as avid advocator for women in STEM) instilled in me the confidence and motivation to pursue a degree in chemistry, additionally inspiring me to provide the same encouragement for others.
Can you remember a time when a fact about chemistry blew your mind?
The flavour profiles of many different types of food originate from the simple condensation reaction between a sugar and amino acid under heated conditions to form a glycosylamine (the first step of the Maillard Reaction)!
What course have you taken here that has seemed especially remarkable or surprising?
I was particularly fascinated by the Biochemistry II (BCH311), which centered around the structure and biochemical processes of nucleic acids. What struck me most was when, during a class project, I came across research articles detailing a strong link between neurodegenerative diseases and DNA damage repair mechanisms, which are facilitated by series of chemical reactions. This highlighted the interdisciplinary nature of scientific subjects that often, as a student taking highly niche classes, I don’t get to see very often.
You you will be one of our Chemistry Second-Year Learning Community mentors starting in September 2024. How did that come about?
My experiences in youth mentoring and tutoring have consistently been rewarding due to the positive impact it has on both students’ learning and confidence within a school environment. Furthermore, having just completed my second year, I understand exactly how difficult and stressful navigating second year can be without a strong support system and additional guidance. Because of this, I jumped at the chance to apply for the Second-Year Learning Community chemistry mentorship position. During the interview process, Chemistry Professor Andy Dicks, and Jackie Goodman and Nicole Treston of the Faculty of Arts and Science, really homed in on what opportunities I thought second year students needed to help them succeed. I look forward to running weekly sessions for incoming second year students in the coming year, offering them additional support and various exciting opportunities to enhance their experience within the Chemistry department!