Thicker than Water: Jerry Leung’s STEM Journey in Blood and Nanomedicine
Photos courtesy of Jerry Leung
Long before he started his education at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Jerry Leung carried a fascination with how the world worked. For each invention, solution, and object that he came across, he had several branching questions that made him wonder how he could improve upon it. For each discovery that he read about, he kept wanting to understand how we could do better.
Today, that same curiosity and drive for innovation has led Jerry to pursue a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UBC. Amongst many projects that Jerry juggles, he passion project is the work he does with his PhD supervisors, Dr. Christian Kastrup and Dr. Pieter Cullis, due to their expertise in blood and nanomedicine respectively.
“We want to figure out how we can use nanoparticles to engineer platelets (the cells in the body that help stop bleeding) and make them better. I gravitated towards this particular work because it has the potential to make a big impact—to put it simply, blood unites us more than it makes us different, and nearly every healthcare provider around the globe has seen blood-related cases with complicated problems that need to be solved—as our findings could help address clinical needs if the trials are successful, and I wanted to be a part of finding a solution to these challenges!”
— Jerry Leung
In both the near and far future, Jerry hopes to expand on the current body of knowledge in the field of platelets, blood, and nanomedicine and make a lasting impact by helping develop new therapeutics or clinical solutions. Jerry has built an arsenal of skills on his journey in STEM that has allowed him to chase after his values of accountability, equality, and excellence. He is able to chase after more knowledge and growth in his pursuit of nanomedicine and blood research, and he’s now carved out a space where he can contribute and give back to the scientific community.
“STEM is essential for driving new discoveries that push the boundaries of what we currently know, and STEM enables us to develop further technological advances. Without STEM, our world (and our understanding of the world) would look very different.”
Jerry does not take for granted that he’s had the opportunity to work with and learn from an impressive roster of researchers in a wide range of disciplines. In fact, he sees it as a privilege to aid these researchers through collaborations and contribute to their own visions for how they want to transform the world for the better.
Now that Jerry is wrapping up his PhD research, his next goal is to carve out time to travel and explore new places, try different types of foods, and see the parts of humanity that bridge us.
Join us and follow along as we GEER UP to inspire the next generations of scientists, engineers, critical thinkers, and leaders.
