Anna Wong, Molecular Genetics

Student Name: Anna Wong
Year: Rising Year 4 (Class of 2020)
Country of Origin: Toronto, Canada
Undergraduate Department: Molecular Genetics and Microbiology (Major)

Why Faculty of Medicine?
Admitted as a Life Sciences student in my first year, I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in but knew that I wanted to be part of a faculty whose scope included both basic and translational research. With an interest in learning more about antimicrobial resistance, drug discovery, and global health, the Faculty of Medicine felt like the perfect fit.

Why this Department?
Most programs in the Life Sciences require an incredible amount of rote memorization. As an often memorization-adverse student, I found Molecular Genetics refreshing in its greater emphasis on logical reasoning and modeling. Furthermore, with a longstanding interest in inheritance and disease, the opportunity to study the basic molecular mechanisms and units responsible for these phenomena was exciting to me.

Current Research Experience
In my second year, I participated in the Research Opportunity Program with the department and studied aspects of the P1 plasmid system in E. coli under Dr. Barbara Funnell. I then moved away from the bench to work at the University's WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Accountability, and Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Sector under Dr. Jillian Kohler, where my research focused on corruption in health financing. As a visiting exchange student at the University of Cambridge (2019 Winter/Spring), my dissertation focused on the nexus of multinational pharmaceutical companies, intellectual property regimes, and international development.

Future Education Plans/Career Goals
With double majors in Molecular Genetics and International Relations, I'm interested in pursuing a path that marries my dual interests in scientific discovery and policy. I'm hoping to attend law school, and then ultimately practice in the biotech or pharmaceutical sector. While not the most traditional routes of academia or medicine, I'm excited to take the skills I've developed and knowledge I've learnt from Molecular Genetics and apply it in a new context.

Contact Ambassador Anna Wong