Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast
Life-Changing Science: The BioBuilder Podcast
Nicole Mumbi: scientific curiosity meets life-changing opportunity
What happens when scientific curiosity meets life-changing opportunity? Nicole Mumbi shares her remarkable journey and provides a powerful answer to this question.
Moving from Nairobi, Kenya to Boston in 2019, Nicole faced the challenge of cultural transition while nurturing her budding interest in science. Though initially experiencing culture shock and language barriers, her determination never wavered. A simple middle school experiment on atmospheric pressure had already planted the seed of scientific fascination that would shape her future path.
When Nicole's high school guidance counselor suggested applying to the BioBuilder Apprenticeship Program, she seized the opportunity despite her fears and busy academic schedule. At Ginkgo Bioworks' Learning Lab, Nicole and her team developed "Break the Stigma" – an innovative at-home HIV detection project that engineered bacterial cells with CD4 receptors to detect the virus in blood samples. This first-hand laboratory experience transformed her understanding of science from textbook concepts to real-world applications.
The technical skills Nicole gained – from PCR to scientific presentation – became the foundation for her subsequent internship at the prestigious Ragon Institute. Now thriving as a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology student at UMass Amherst, she gives back by tutoring other students in chemistry while contemplating whether her future lies in research, medicine, or a combination of both.
Throughout her story, Nicole emphasizes the importance of pushing past imposter syndrome to take chances. "I remember having this imposter syndrome person talking to me saying, 'I don't think you have enough qualifications,'" she shares. "But I was grateful for my mom's encouragement to partake in opportunities without feeling like an outsider."
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Hello and welcome to Life-Changing Science, the BioBuilder podcast. I'm your host, zeeshan, and my guest today is Nicole Mumbi. Nicole is a fantastic former BioBuilder apprentice who first joined us in 2022 as a student at Everett High School. Shortly after her family moved from Kenya to Boston, nicole participated in the first post-COVID program at the Learning Lab at Ginkgo, where she and her team developed a biotech project aimed at at-home HIV detection. Since then, she's completed summer research experiences at the Ragon Institute and is now thriving as a budding scientist at UMass Amherst. And is now thriving as a budding scientist at UMass Amherst, all while giving back by tutoring the next generation of students in chemistry. Let's learn more about her journey and dive right into this episode. I just wanted to get to know you a bit more.
Nicole Mumbi:So I actually came here six years ago, me, my brother and I. I mean, yeah, me, my brother and my mother. We came to the US in 2019 because my grandparents were already here. Um, I grew so we went everywhere. Right now, so it's like closer to boston, so yeah awesome, and where were you living before boston? Um. Before boston, we lived in kenya at a city called Nairobi. That's where I'm from. Shout out to Kenya.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Shout out to Kenya. Awesome Nice, that must have been. Which grade were you in when you moved over?
Nicole Mumbi:At the time I just started high school in Kenya, so when I came here I was a freshman, but they bumped me to the sophomore class so they gave me like an extra boost when I came here so I think I was 50 at the time yeah, because you're so smart.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:That's why they were like you know what? Oh?
Nicole Mumbi:yeah, yeah, because I remember like they were reviewing my transcript and and they told me that I don't need to take freshman class again. I can just like move up to the sophomore class. I was like, okay, fine by me.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:I love that nice, yeah, um, but that must have been quite quite a big change. How, how was that for you know, your, your family, uh, yourself, your brother? Um, of course, adjusting to, I mean, we live in such a global world to be honest, yeah, but nonetheless it's. It's a huge. Uh, yeah, it's definitely a huge undertaking yeah, um, yeah.
Nicole Mumbi:Initially, like you know, with all the hype of like moving to the us, like moving to like a different culture and part of the world, likei was really excited at first. My brother and I we've been thinking about that opportunity ever since we were younger, because my grandparents will always come and visit us from the US and they'll tell us stories about the US. So when I grew up, I always had the mindset that I will move to the US one day. I just didn't expect it to be really soon. I will move to the US one day. I just didn't expect it to be really soon, especially since I started high school in Kenya. It was like a boarding school, so I was really familiarizing myself with other people, forming new friendships. And when that letter from the embassy came, that boom. Our visa just got approved and it was time for us to to move.
Nicole Mumbi:It was a bit like rocky for me because I wasn't expecting it to be too soon, but nevertheless I was excited.
Nicole Mumbi:I feel like when I actually like landed here, like like the culture shock really hit me and I was not expecting to also like feel homesick as well, even though my entire family is here, like, I still felt that like disconnect from my culture and my people back at home.
Nicole Mumbi:So I felt like it was it. It took a while, honestly, to to adjust to the culture here, to the language, because even though we were, um being taught English, like it wasn't like a language that I will like use all the time, it was just like for passing a test and that was it. So I feel like even like switching my whole um talking style to like a new language and trying to interact with people here. It was a bit difficult at first, but I feel like, as the time went, I like it became easier. So, yeah, it wasn't like a walk in the park the first time, but eventually, like I grew to actually accept this place as my home as well so in high school in Nairobi were you part of, was that when you first got interested in some of your science classes?
Nicole Mumbi:I think actually I think it was during my middle school actually, because we had this topic in science.
Nicole Mumbi:I remember like really well, it was, I think, about atmospheric pressure, and it was that topic that we actually I actually got to be engaged in like a first experiment thing, where I think my teacher like came in class with like a huge jug of water and she started to poke holes in it and then she, she demonstrated how the hole that was at the very bottom of the jar like was spilling so much water compared to the first hole, and that was like something to do with like the pressure in the air. And I feel like just seeing that, like actually taking a concept from a book and applying it, we were able to like do science and I was like, oh wow, that's actually pretty cool. So I feel like that was my first idea. I was like maybe, like I want to, I want to dive deeper into science, as it was the only class that we were able to like do practical stuff, and I really love working with my hands, so I was like I could, I could do this in the future. You know, just do science.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:For a few years. You're in the US, you're in. You're in your high school, and did you? I'm sure on the first day of high school you're like okay, where's the science class, where do I sign up?
Nicole Mumbi:yeah, I remember they presented me options. They had like career tracks, um, that were supposed to put students in classes that they thought that they would want to engage with as a career. So off the bat I chose health because for the longest time you know, like coming coming from an African household, they always praise being a doctor. So I was like maybe being a doctor is in my path. So I chose the health classes and that's where I got to be involved in more science classes like chemistry, physics, biology and also my health classes.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Yeah, yeah, that makes sense um that's no, that's awesome, and I was when did you first, uh, come across biobuilder? Because, yeah, you chose sort of the health path and you had some great guidance on sort of what options available to you in terms of some of the science classes you could take. I was yeah curious how you came across the Bible, the program.
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, my high school guidance counselor advertised the program for me. Actually, I remember college applications were nearing and I was sort of freaking out that my resume was high-key, dry. So when I expressed that fear to her, she told me that there was an apprentice program in Boston that were looking for interns and she advised me to apply to her. She told me that there was an apprentice program in Boston that were looking for interns and she advised me to apply to it, and I did.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:And how was the application process like? Was there a sort of like you had to write a personal statement?
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, if I can remember, I think, yeah, I think there was a personal statement Asking me, like why I wanted to join the bio builder, and I remember they asked a question that was not like even related to science at all. I I can't remember what it was, but I think it was something along the lines of, um, what was your great, what was your greatest achievement? Or like, if you had to do something, um, what would it be? Or something like that. So, the, so the application, like wasn't really science, science based heavy that I thought that it would be. It was just like chill, getting to know, me, to the application and me expressing my, my, my, my interest on why I wanted to pursue their, their internship yeah, yeah, I guess they're trying to get to know you as a person, and yeah yeah, yeah, it's their job to sort of teach you and and mentor you um makes sense awesome so let's.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Yeah, so you did that, you got in. Wow, we're doing so much, it's great, it's great, it's great.
Nicole Mumbi:Now let's, let's, yeah, so you did that.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:You got in. Wow, we're doing so much. It's great, it's great. It's great. Now let's actually dive right into the Bible Apprenticeship Program. So you did this. I think in your did you say junior year.
Nicole Mumbi:Yes, my junior year.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Nice, yeah, because you mentioned college application. Yeah, that's a crazy time because you're doing SATs as well. So what were your? Yeah, so you started the apprenticeship programs. What were your sort of you know initial thoughts when you started nice?
Nicole Mumbi:yeah, um, oh yeah, I think um off the bat, like even before getting to the learning lab, I was excited that my, my, my other friends from the other they got into the program as well. So that kind of eased my nerves about going into it because I thought I was going to know no one and it was going to be intimidating. So having my friends there with me was a huge plus. This was also my first internship post-COVID because the previous one, which I was participating in the LEAR project, was online. So stepping into an actual research lab, the learning lab, for the first time was super thrilling for me.
Nicole Mumbi:I remember the first day we had a tour of Ginkgo and we got to visit and learn about some labs in the building and I remember as we were passing by these labs I'll envision myself like sitting in like one of those lab offices in the future. And that was actually what I was hoping to find like even before diving into the concepts, because I was trying to find some sort of clarity or direction when thinking about future careers in life sciences. So when we started getting into the lectures and activities, I found myself enjoying being more hands-on and being behind the bench and, slowly by slowly, my interest in research grew, even though at that time I had the thought of being a doctor. So I think my initial thoughts were really to decide whether or not I want to pursue research as a career, while hoping that this program would help me to come to a conclusion I know what?
Zeeshan Siddiqui:uh, during the apprenticeship, like the actual program, uh, you you put in teams and your team worked on an at-home hiv detection project which is wild, walk me through every step. No, um, actually, no, no, no, it's all good. I do want you to walk us through sort of the concept and, mursa, how do you sort of come up with that idea and what did you learn during the project?
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, I think when my team and I were trying to find a project, we were all interested in infectious diseases for some reason.
Nicole Mumbi:So we thought that, with HIV being one of the most rampant and deadly infectious diseases in the world, that we will try to come up with a solution to see how to tackle this disease by early detection and also, at the same time, spreading awareness of it and acknowledging how dangerous this disease is.
Nicole Mumbi:So that's why, actually, our project's name was called Break the Stigma and okay, to walk you through the concept of what we did, we thought of designing a model that would replicate the mechanisms of HIV infection on white blood cells by using bacterial cells instead as our hosts, receptors of white blood cells.
Nicole Mumbi:We thought of engineering a bacterial cell with the CD4 receptors and, if I'm remembering this correctly, I think we envisioned that a culture of these engineered bacterial cells will be in a tube and we will take a blood sample from an individual willing to test and put that in this tube. And our reasoning was that if the blood sample had HIV, then the virus will bind to the CD4 receptors of the bacterial cell and it will signal secondary messengers to activate the transcription and even the translation of a protein which was called coagulase I I remember, yeah, coagulase which will promote um blood clot formation. So we reasoned that if the test had a high number of blood clots, then the, then the hiv, will be detected in that individual that was brilliantly explained, um, and are you sure you're not doing a phd?
Nicole Mumbi:that that's the goal that is the goal. I want to do the phd let's just do.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Let's do the md phd I'm still kind of.
Nicole Mumbi:I'm still kind of on the fence on being a doctor. I don't know, I'm still figuring it out, you know hey, it's, it's step by step.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:It's step by step, exactly yeah that's because you know a lot of um, the biology and experiments and stuff that you mentioned. This is all you know. Uh, I didn't do this until second or third year of undergrad. You know when I did under my undergrad. Yeah, I'm not that old as well just for the listeners um so it's incredible that you've you've had this sort of you know, full on science, you know experience where you know you're working in a team as well as you know generating scientific hypotheses and testing that um yeah yeah I.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:I want to ask you what were some. You know what's some of your favorite. You know experiments that that you did in the lab, and were any of them? You know I asked this before, but were any of them? During the Atom HIV detection project, did you do any experiment for the first time?
Nicole Mumbi:If I remember this correctly, we had an experiment where we were working with E coli and it was, I think, transforming some plasmids into them. So that was my first time doing that and I thought that it was really cool.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Was there sort of I think what was? When did I? Yeah, I really fell in love with biology back. I think I can't remember if this was first or second year of undergrad with biology back. I think I can't remember this was first or second year of undergrad, um, when I learned about recombinant dna and how insulin could be made and stuff like that yeah, what was like during the apprenticeship program? Did you have like a similar?
Nicole Mumbi:you know eureka moment where you're like this is insane um, let me see, I'm trying to think about it because yeah, you can also say like the process of doing the scientific research or being in a lab like this for the first time like yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly yeah.
Nicole Mumbi:I I would say actually like being in a research lab for the first time was like wearing a white coat. I felt really professional, um, even even even learning about about systems in biology. I think our teacher's name was Hiroko. She was kind of explaining to us the concept of having an input and then you'll have an output to it, so it kind of made me think about how it's also the same with, like hypothesis testing. If you want to test something which is like the input, then you have to think about, like what the output would look like. So I loved how we were, we were being guided into, into just developing hypotheses on our own.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Yeah, um, yeah, no, that that makes a lot of sense. Um, and did you have to? How did the end of the of the apprenticeship program go? Did you have to write a report?
Nicole Mumbi:uh, or did you, you know, did like, like a final presentation oh, yeah, yeah, we, we had to do a final presentation about our project to yeah, in front of our peers and also other scientists that were being invited to the poster presentation.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Nice. How was that? How was that experience? You know science. Communication is such an integral part of being a scientist as well.
Nicole Mumbi:I remember I woke up that morning feeling so anxious because that was my first ever poster presentation in person, so I was worried that I would get my words mixed up. I was worried that I'll stutter, because I naturally stutter when I'm nervous, and I just wanted everything to go okay and it actually did, so that was exciting, I am very glad to hear that.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Um, nice, amazing. So I was like, were there any you know, uh, mentors or peers during the program you know who had like a significant impact on you? I mean you sort of already mentioned, like hiroko, or yeah other you know other mentors or other students that you were learning from. Like, how was that sort of mentorship and group learning experience where, hey, my sort of? I feel my scientific thinking has changed a bit.
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, I think honestly everyone in the program, both the mentors and the students, because we weren't a huge cohort, so all of us got to know each other and share our stories and dreams for the future. Even after BioBuilder, I think I'm still in touch with some of my peers from time to time and I remember even during my poster presentation for another internship, natalie and Hiroko caught me by surprise when I saw them in the audience during my presentation. So I feel like just being in that space of BioBuilder both my mentors and my peers we were always connected with each other. We're always talking to each other and they fostered like this really safe environment to just express yourself and letting others help and support you in your journey.
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, so I feel like all of them had a significant impact on my life.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Yeah, you have had such an incredible experience at Bioboulder and learned so much. You then went on to do an internship at Reagan Institute as well as then, you know, currently, you know pursuing a Bachelor of Science at UMass, amherst. I just want to learn a bit more about that journey, from sort of finishing the apprenticeship program, then the Reagan internship and now what you're doing right now. Just want to learn more about sort of all those different experiences yeah sure, um.
Nicole Mumbi:Um. It's actually pretty interesting. I learned about the at the reagan. I learned about the reagan at our poster presentation because after my team and I presented the manager of the reagan institute summer experience or rise he came up to us and told us our presentation was cool and kind of slid in the fact mid-convo that there's a HIV lab at the Reagan Institute and if you wanted to explore more about it we could apply to their summer program. So when I heard this I was really excited and I was so confident that I wanted to learn more about HIV and infectious diseases in the future. So I did take up on his offer and I applied to their program. And I remember during that day for the presentation, so that I could ensure that I was in his radar, I went up to him and I engaged in conversation with him and I kind of practiced my elevator pitch so that he could remember my name if he sees my application. And fortunately I got into the Reagan after that.
Nicole Mumbi:Pcr, gel, electrophoresis, even the simple tools of like pipetting, all those technical skills that I got from BioBuilder, and the social skills as well, like being able to work in a team and always raising questions and being curious. I feel like that all factored into how well I handled the internship at Reagan, because I would say it was more context heavy because they were doing actual research on HIV. So they were involved, like all these scientific journals that I had to read, all these contests that I had to keep in mind while I was assessing them in their research. So I felt like all the skills that I gained from BioBuilder were definitely a good foundation for me to start my internship at the Raygun.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Awesome. And then I also want to learn about. You're currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science with a focus in the health sciences at UMass, Amherst right.
Nicole Mumbi:Yes, yes.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:What led you to sort of apply to that specific program?
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, initially I knew I wanted to learn biology. So when it came to college applications I chose my desired major as biology to all the schools I was applying to as biology to all the schools I was applying to. Umass Amherst kind of stood out to me because they offered a biochemistry and molecular biology major as their Bachelor of Science. So I was like whoa, this is like a whole package where I get to contribute and concentrate in both biology, chemistry, molecular biology, like all these foundational scientific courses. So it kind of made sense to me that I wanted a career in with with this major. And even I'm going to tour UMass Amherst and seeing how vibrant the the college campus was, how the student life was, and because that was really important when I was picking colleges was to ensure that I go to a place where I'll feel as if it was my home. I know it's like kind of cringy to say that, but that was actually at the top of my list and I found that at UMass Amherst. That's why I chose to pursue a biochem degree here.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Yeah, and you're also doing some work as a chemistry tutor as well, right, yes. Nice. Is that through UMass Amherst? Is that something you're doing on your own?
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, that is through UMass Amherst.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Nice. So this is like a TA in a chemistry class.
Nicole Mumbi:It's sort of like a TA. Yeah, they call us PLTL Leaders, which stands for Peer-Led Team Learning. So I'll be in charge of like a small group of students who wanted to learn more about the concepts and I will walk through them. I will go through some sheets of questions for organic chemistry and we'll try to figure out those questions together.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Yeah, that's so much fun.
Nicole Mumbi:I absolutely love teaching yeah because my mom was a teacher as well. So when I saw this opportunity I felt like, why not? Because my brother? I always tutor my brother because he's also in the same school as I am, with the same major, and he always told me to tutor him organic chemistry and he pushed me to actually apply for the position.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:I love that. Uh, it's. It's so great. You've had so many you know great experiences, and I've really enjoyed hearing about each and every one of them. Um. I'd as a final question, I'd love to ask you know if you could, uh, is there anything you'd like to share about? You know, some of our listeners who have maybe also recently or just moved to the us, so that's like the first group and also some people who are currently, you know, doing who's currently, who are currently thinking about doing the BioBuilder program.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:So what would you like to share with those listeners?
Nicole Mumbi:Yeah, I would say definitely take chances. Because I remember when I was hearing about people getting internships at the back of my head I had, like this imposter syndrome person talking to me saying, well, you know, I don't think you can make it to that, I don't think you can make it to that, I don't think you have enough qualifications for that.
Nicole Mumbi:But I was grateful for my mom because she was the one who was pushing me and encouraging me to also um be to also partake in the in the opportunities that are being offered and and never feeling that I was like an outsider and that they wouldn't accept me or stuff like that. So I would definitely encourage you guys to take chances and know that this program are here for all of us to succeed. Always take the chances, because there's no harm in trying.
Zeeshan Siddiqui:Thanks once again to Nicole for joining me today. What really stood out to me about Nicole is her incredible openness to growth, from moving across continents to diving into unfamiliar areas of science, her resilience, curiosity and willing to let new experiences guide her, whether towards research, medicine or beyond, are a reminder of how powerful it is to stay open as we find our way. I think this episode will be really useful for parents and students looking into understanding some of the projects that the Bible is students do and the impact that it has on students, both their personal and professional growth. And if you'd like to learn more about anything else Nicole and I discussed from this episode, please refer to the show notes. Join me for the next BioBuilder podcast. We'll welcome another wonderful guest whose career has been influenced by BioBuilder's life-changing science. See you next time.