About Kamryn

MSc student

I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and came to UBC at 18 hoping to get a degree in astrophysics. Based on my first year mandatory biology courses, I confirmed that I didn’t want to pursue biology and managed to avoid it for most of my degree. By the end of my studies, my degree was a combined major in physics and computer science, peppered with a handful of random biology courses I couldn’t dodge, like entomology, human anatomy, and BIOL342.  

Ironically, BIOL342 - the course I tried hardest to get out of - ended up nurturing my curiosity about plants. While my houseplant obsession had already been deemed “excessive”, the chance to experiment with plants in a lab and use tools far beyond what I had access to at home was exciting. This course also gave me the chance to connect with the TA, a former member of the Wasteneys lab, as we bonded over the frustrations of quantifying roots. She then graciously invited me to volunteer in the lab, despite my background, which casually redirected my entire life plan once it fundamentally reshaped my understanding of research. 

Through my time in the lab, I have developed a strong appreciation for not only research, but this specific field and its significance, especially towards the challenges our generation will face in the coming years. With this as a motivating force, I’ve been committed to leveraging my diverse background to contribute to the advancement of botany research. Drawing from various experiences like programming machine-learning algorithms and fitting physics models on a molecular scale, it is so unanticipated yet gratifying to see my previously disparate skills align in a meaningful way in this field. My science degree somehow both broadened my appreciation for all science and highlighted my desire to specialize in molecular biology, allowing me to truly enjoy what I do and have no doubt I am where I’m supposed to be.