Evelyn Sun was only a grade nine student at J.N. Burnett High School in Richmond, BC when she experienced the wonder of science in a way that fundamentally altered her career path forever. That was the year she attended the Geneskool Summer Science Program offered by Genome BC.
Before attending Geneskool, science was something she only learned through textbooks, but it was the week-long program that provided her with exposure to what it was like to be a working scientist. That experience sparked her curiosity and changed her path forever. Recalling the impact Geneskool had on her, Evelyn said “It took me one day to realize this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life…I owe my entire career to that one week.”
Evelyn graduated from the University of British Columbia (UBC) with a BSc in 2014 having completed the joint UBC/BCIT Honours in Biotechnology program. Today, with a passion for infectious disease research Evelyn is pursuing her PhD in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at UBC. Her thesis researches the infections involved with the genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis.
This extraordinary young woman not only shows promise as bright minded researcher in life sciences, her passion to inspire others in the field is exemplary. As a recipient of the 2018 Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Award from UBC, Evelyn says she finds “great joy interacting with students, the enrichment of education and the illumination of young minds.” In addition to her roles as a part-time Instructor and Teaching Assistant at UBC, Evelyn regularly volunteers with the outreach program Let’s Talk Science, and serves as the Director of Geneskool’s Summer Science Program — the same program that inspired her to pursue a career in genomics research and her ultimate desire to teach at a post-secondary level.