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Safiyya Musa

Role: Fourth year Molecular Bioengineering Master's student at Imperial College London

Subject area: Bioengineering and microfluidics

Nationality: British

I’m a final year bioengineering student at Imperial College London, which means I study the intersection of all the sciences and maths. Outside of university time I’m an avid cook and love reading too.

Education

GCSE (or equivalent): Maths, Science, English, French, Sociology and Geography

A-level (or equivalent): Maths, Chemistry and Biology

Degrees:
• MEng Molecular Bioengineering, Imperial College London

My project

My project at the moment is looking at a bacteria commonly found in soils but also in humans’ digestive systems! I’m interested in how the bacteria change their behaviour according to their environment and I use microfluidics to look at the bacteria up close.

My inspiration

I’ve always been curious about how the world around me works and especially how humans, animals and plants live and function. Studying bioengineering has really helped me to feed that curiosity and has given me an understanding of how things work and what we can do when things go wrong.

Who is your STEM hero?

My STEM hero is a bit of an old one, Al-Khwarizmi was a scientist in Persia back in the ninth century. Known as the ‘Father of Algebra’ he contributed massively to what we know today about maths, astronomy and astrology.

Most significant discovery/invention?

I think one of the most significant discoveries is definitely DNA. The discovery of DNA has allowed us to learn so much about living organisms and is transforming the way we treat different diseases, agricultural problems and much more.

Professor Eric Aboagye talking to a postdoc in his lab

Career options after study

Many bioengineers go into research roles, studying for a PhD or joining pharma or biotechnology companies. The great thing about studying bioengineering is you are exposed to lots of different topics so your career can be diverse, from big engineering firm, finance or tech roles.

My hobbies

I love cooking nearly as much as I like going out to find nice places to eat. You might find me reading an old book or re-watching Netflix series on my days off.