BIOTECH ENTREPRENEUR

Growing Up

AN INTERNATIONAL CHILDHOOD

01 / I was born an only child in Saudi Arabia, and soon after, we moved to Bangladesh, where my family is from. The following year, we found ourselves in Bonn, Germany, a beautiful town on the Rhine River. After four years, we moved to Berlin, and later returned to Bangladesh. My dad’s career as a Foreign Services Officer meant we moved a lot, but no matter where we lived, I was surrounded by love, music, art, and play. As a kid, I spent hours reading books, collecting stickers and stamps, making art, and playing with friends.

02 / Even as a young child, I had a strong sense of fairness. I remember the day my grandmother made special treats for my cousin, a boy, and I didn’t understand why only he got them. I marched right up to her, determined to set things right. To her credit, she quickly made sure I had my share. I became passionate about treating people equally, a value my mom, who was a social worker and activist, also lived by.

03 / Attending international schools was an amazing experience. My teachers came from all over the world. Mrs. Rose Easley, my very first teacher, was from Alabama and larger than life. Then there was Ms. Oche from Ireland and Mr. Hanlon, a British teacher with a Cambridge education. They made learning exciting, and school became one of my happiest places—I hated missing a single day!

High School

A LIFE-CHANGING MOVE

01 / At 15, we relocated to Sri Lanka—a decision driven by my mom, who had spent years as a teacher. She carefully chose a school that offered the best education we could afford: Colombo International School. That move was transformative. It was a chance to pursue something bigger than I ever imagined, though I didn’t realize it at the time.

02 / The school was intense, structured around the British system with a heavy focus on science and exams. I felt a bit out of place at first—most students had ten tutors on average, while I had none. It was overwhelming, and I remember being nervous that I might not make it. But something clicked. By the end of the first term, I found myself at the top of the class. It was a powerful moment, as if I’d tapped into a part of myself I hadn’t fully realized before.

03 / My time in Sri Lanka wasn’t just about academics; life outside of school was often unpredictable and heavy. The country was in the middle of a civil war, and there were times when bombings struck close to home—one narrowly missing my dad. We lost people we cared about. Then, in 2004, a tsunami devastated the island, taking the lives of more than 30,000 people. It was a difficult time to navigate, but school became a place of focus and stability. There was a lot of pressure to excel, but I leaned into it. My achievements in academics and Model UN opened doors I never thought possible.

College & Grad School

CHARTING MY PATH

01 / My achievements in high school opened a lot of doors, including scholarships that made it possible to study at a top university. I decided on Emory University in the U.S., but getting in wasn’t easy—it was a competitive process. Moving across the world alone was both thrilling and intense. But once I arrived, I threw myself into exploring new fields, and physics quickly captured my imagination. It wasn’t just numbers and equations—it was a way to uncover the hidden patterns shaping everything around us.

02 / One of the reasons I chose Emory was the opportunity to join a research lab as an undergraduate. I wanted to dive into hands-on science right away, and physics felt like the perfect blend of creativity and logic. Once I started working in the lab, I was hooked. There was something exhilarating about transforming abstract ideas into real experiments. With the support of my professors, I kept challenging myself, and the deeper I got into the work, the more driven I became to keep going.

03 / Getting into Harvard felt like a dream, but the reality was intense. I was developing new laser technology, pushing the boundaries of what physics could do. The work was exhilarating, but the pace was fast, and expectations were high. At times, I questioned if I really belonged. When things got overwhelming, I found comfort painting with acrylics or getting lost in South Asian music. Friends and mentors reminded me that setbacks were part of the process. Each challenge shaped me into the scientist I was becoming.

Becoming an Entrepreneur

BUILDING REAL WORLD SOLUTIONS

01 / During grad school, I developed new laser technology and patented it. I wanted to make sure my invention did more than just sit in a lab—I wanted to solve real-world problems. I started talking to biologists, and realized there was a critical need for more precise tools in biology. It became clear that, by bringing my physics-driven tool to medicine, we could potentially make a major difference.

02 / Curious about what it would take to turn the idea into a company, I began seeking mentors who understood start-ups, creating business plans, and entering competitions. With every step, the concept evolved as I learned how to communicate its value and build a strategy. It took a lot of hard work to learn both the business and biology skills I needed, but my co-founders and I quickly saw how much demand there was for a solution like this.

03 / When we officially launched my company, Cellino, things took off fast—I was named to Forbes 30 under 30, gave a TED Talk, and Cellino began growing into a company with the potential to change how we approach stem cell therapy. By merging physics and biology, we’re working toward solutions that could improve patient care in ways that were once impossible. My focus now is on building the partnerships and strategy to keep us growing, so that this technology can reach its full potential of treating diseases around the world.

04 / Through it all, I never lost sight of my commitment to fairness and equality. From the start, I made sure our team at Cellino was diverse, with values that reflect equity at every level of the company. That same passion also drove me to co-create this very program—I Am a Scientist—because I believe in supporting the next generation of STEM leaders, no matter where they come from or what they look like. My mom taught me that, and as a new mom myself, that’s the world I want my daughter to grow up in.