Position Title
EQUIP Alumna
Allisa Tran
New approaches to treating genetic diseases
Allisa Tran graduated with a B.S. in biotechnology with a bioinformatics emphasis. She plans to use her interdisciplinary interests in biology and computer science to work in the biopharmaceutical industry and address unmet medical needs with unique technical solutions. Today she is a Direct Marketing Specialist at Illumina (San Diego, Calif.).
Tran loves reading nonfiction books ranging from archaeological finds about ancient cultures to genetic discoveries in modern times. She loves Korean food.
Note: This interview was conducted in spring 2019 when Allisa was an EQUIP Scholar.
What’s important about your field of study—and where do you hope to take it?
I’m in the field of biotechnology and, more specifically, in the application of genetics and genomics. In the future, I hope to participate in the advancements of genome sequencing technology, which will help us learn more about the information encoded in our DNA and how it affects human health, diseases, and treatments.
What are you most passionate about in your work/education?
The discoveries in the fields of genetics and genomics have exploded over the last few decades, and I think it’s a really exciting time to be a part of it. On one hand, there has been a lot of research on close-up perspectives of DNA and RNA in genetics, but studying genomes comprehensively through sequencing and computational methods is still emerging. Being in the middle of that and having the chance to affect the future healthcare for genetic diseases is what I’m really passionate about.
What was the most important thing you learned during EQUIP?
The most important thing I learned during EQUIP is how innovation can stem from everyday parts of your life. Ideas don’t necessarily have to be born from scheduled meetings and networking workshops with other professionals, although they are a great place to get into that mindset. I learned that innovation can stem from the motivation to fix a problem that no one else has thought to fix yet, even if it starts on a really small scale.
What is the most unexpected advice you received during the program?
I was pleasantly surprised to hear about the importance of thank you cards. In a world of emails and phone calls, learning how someone can stand out by sending a handwritten thank you note was unexpected but incredibly useful.
What is the most important thing you discovered in EQUIP?
I discovered a wonderfully diverse community of people with similar goals: to learn about entrepreneurship and how we can apply innovation to improve the world. I had the chance to meet peers and make friends from a huge variety of backgrounds.
I learned that innovation can stem from the motivation to fix a problem that no one else has thought to fix yet, even if it starts on a really small scale.
How will your experiences help you to change the world?
After EQUIP, entrepreneurship is no longer an out-of-reach venture. I’ve learned that if I’m armed with ideas, resilience and a work ethic, becoming an entrepreneur to change the world is more than possible.
How will your experiences as an EQUIP Fellow shape your professional future?
Learning how to apply innovation in my own life will definitely shape my professional future. By using innovative approaches that can be used to develop a product and applying that to my own dynamic career, I will continue to learn how to adapt my future to my interests and passions.