Jenni Chang is a research scientist at Langevin Research, working everyday to design and perform various experiments with a team of fellow researchers. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma with a pre-med focus and has the goal of going to med school to become a physician. She has also been very involved throughout her academic and professional career in various community outreach organizations.
Can you describe your career pathway and journey? Ex. What were you initially interested in? What did you major in? What did you research in college? What jobs have you had? What goals do you have for your future? (I know you already went over this during the career panel, so my apologies if it feels a little repetitive, I just want to get the full and complete story!)
My educational journey led me to the University of Oklahoma where I obtained a BS in Chemistry and Biochemistry with a pre-med focus. I originally planned on majoring in Biology, but after taking my first General Chemistry course and falling in love with the subject, I decided to change my focus in school. I was heavily involved with the sorority, alpha Kappa Delta Phi, and held multiple leadership positions to help spread Asian Awareness and Breast Cancer Awareness on campus. Moving to Oklahoma was definitely a culture shock and being a part of an organization like alpha Kappa Delta Phi provided me with a support system away from home. In addition to my membership in various on-campus clubs, I spent much time conducting research with Professor Zhibo Yang, who was my General Chemistry instructor. Performing independent research in his Mass Spectrometry lab allowed me to gain more advanced knowledge pertaining to research and practice working with powerful analytical techniques. My off campus activities included volunteering for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, The Virtue Center, and an abortion clinic, Trust Womens Clinic. These places offered me an opportunity to interact with a diverse group of people and further understand the issues that exist in healthcare.
Upon graduating from OU, I returned home and began working for a non-profit biotech company called RAIN Incubator. I heard about this organization through a friend and was immediately attracted to their project, which involved creating a wastewater surveillance system to monitor COVID-19 transmission dynamics in Tacoma, WA. With my sights still set on my dream of becoming a doctor, I felt that participating in research that allowed me to actively contribute to the betterment of local communities during the pandemic would be greatly rewarding. I took on a Research Technician role at RAIN Incubator and was able to lead the Sample Processing and Sample Collection side of our project. This was my first experience working in research in a real world setting and witnessing the direct impact of science on the people around me.
Following this position, I began working for Langevin Research as a Research Scientist. I work in the research and development side of the company and help with the design and optimization of preclinical workflows. Each day, I work on multiple projects that encompass designing experiments to improve quantitative PCR, Luminex bioassays, and Oxford Nanopore Sequencing protocols. On top of being a part of my wonderful team of researchers, I also volunteer weekly for a free clinic, which assists many uninsured and immigrant populations. I hope to utilize the skills and knowledge I’ve gained from my research experience to become a more thorough and critically thinking physician who prioritizes the health and improvement of her patients.
What do you like most/what do you find most interesting about your job?
There are many aspects that I enjoy about my job, but I love how challenging and dynamic it is. Working with novel assays constantly pushes me to expand my knowledge and think in ways I never expected. Everyday I go into work, I know it’s going to be different than the day before and the idea of that is both scary and exciting. I feel like I am consistently growing and learning as a person and a scientist. Working in research, you may not be directly interacting with people/patients, but you know that your work will eventually greatly impact a large population of people in need, especially if you’re working with clinical assays.
What skills do you find to be most vital to your job? (They could be technical, professional, etc.)
Although technical skills are crucial to be successful as a Research Scientist, there is much more to my job. On top of mastering aseptic techniques, research requires you to have resilience and adaptability. The more you’re in research, you realize there are many more times of failure than success (and that’s perfectly fine!). What’s important is that you don’t give up. When an experiment does not go the way you imagined it to, you need to be able to take a step back and objectively analyze your data. You need to go down the rabbit hole of uncovering the reason for your results and actively problem-solve to overcome these hurdles.
How did you first get started in this field and/or what were some of the most important steps or influences on your journey to becoming a scientist in this field? What do you think a high school student just getting started in this field should do to jumpstart their career?
I would say the beginning of my research journey started in college when I began working in Professor Yang’s lab. This set the foundation for my interest in research and ultimately led me to taking on the Research Technician position at RAIN Incubator. In addition, I was and am still propelled to conduct research because I constantly make an effort to find meaning in what I do. My overarching goal in life is to make a positive impact on those around me, especially disadvantaged communities, and when looking for places or projects to work on, I allow this passion to guide my decisions. My advice to a high school student getting started in research would be to find what sparks your interest! This does not mean the first job you get has to be perfect and something you fall in love with, but find an area of interest and don’t be afraid to shadow some positions or contact companies to gain a better understanding of what they’re doing. Getting started is the hardest part and once you push yourself to take a risk and try something new, you’ll learn so much valuable information about yourself.
As a woman, what challenges (if any) have you faced in this field?
The field of research is still heavily dominated by men and I would say the biggest challenge has been making myself feel comfortable and that I belong. Last year, I went on a work trip to Minnesota to help evaluate a COVID-19 testing kit for EUA approval. I was the only woman on this trip and had to take measures to ensure my safety at all times. Although this setting was intimidating, I had to keep reminding myself of my skills and that I had the knowledge and qualifications to be there. I know that women in many STEM related fields experience workplace discrimation often, as I directly know several friends who have experienced this, but we need to encourage each other to persevere and prove our worth!
How do you see the future of this field of science playing out (what predictions, hopes, etc. do you have?)
I believe the future of research has many paths. Research itself is incredibly dynamic and I see its future being the same way. As more and more research is being published on the microbiome and its relation to our overall health and the importance of slowing down human aging, I predict increasing research being conducted in these areas. As I am ultimately hoping to become a doctor, I am excited to see how the future of healthcare will be impacted by this novel research and how this will affect the relationship between scientists and physicians.
What is the coolest experiment, study, research, or work you have ever done?
When I was in college, I had to work on a project for a chemistry class that required me to find the molecular structure of an unknown compound utilizing various analytical techniques, such as GC-MS, NMR, IR, and UV-Vis. After weeks of testing this unknown powder with my classmate, we finally concluded that we were given Caffeine! Although this may seem simple and trivial compared to other research, this experiment was genuinely fun and challenging. It put into perspective the amount of impact science has on our daily lives. Coffee is something many people drink everyday, but we don’t often think about what had to be done to understand caffeine, its effects on our bodies, and chemical properties. Science is everywhere and it’s amazing.
Do you have anything else you’d like to share about your career, story, life, etc? I want to be sure I include everything you feel is important!
For everyone just now getting into their careers or even discovering what their passion is, I just want to say to keep fighting and pushing. Although I’m only 25, I have gained so much valuable experience in the past few years. Life is never what you expect and it’s absolutely okay to take a different path than you expected. Don’t be discouraged by failure, but let yourself learn from it and use it to improve. I wish the best of luck to everyone!
My Reflection:
First off, thank you so much to Jenni for doing this interview, I really appreciated getting her advice and perspective, especially since she is so young and thus feels quite relevant to what I’m going through now as a young scientist. I actually met Jenni and heard from her when she was on a panel at a summer program I attended, and I was so intrigued by her story and was inspired to reach out to learn more. One thing I really enjoyed in Jenni’s answers was the constant theme of community outreach and making a good impact on the world around her. I feel really strongly that whatever I do, hopefully in the vein of medical research, I want to make a tangible positive impact, so it was super cool to see that our goals align in that way. It was also just super amazing to hear about all of the ways she is working to give back to her various communities, and I hope that in college and beyond, I’m able to do some similar community work. Additionally, I really appreciated what Jenni said about failure being quite common — it made me think of my math teacher, who always begins a particularly hard class with “today we are going to have fun failing!” I think failing and trying again are such important things to be able to do, and I look forward to failing quite a lot in the future! Finally, I loved hearing her thoughts on being a woman in STEM. I agree that unfortunately, a lot of challenges are still faced (I’ve already been on the receiving end of quite a few sexist remarks in my short scientific career), but I really liked what Jenni said about persevering and recognizing our deserved place as women in STEM. It is also just amazing to hear from a young woman in STEM because it gives me confidence in my future role. I’ve so enjoyed reading Jenni’s answers and learning from her, and I’m super excited to see where she goes in her career. Thanks so much to Jenni!
The Rosalind Project 