Tasmim Bintae Shibbir

When and how did you realize that you wanted to study Genetics & Genomics?

It wasn’t like any one moment or a sudden realization. I always loved the sciences, especially cosmology and biology. When I was in high school, I was fascinated that something as small as DNA could code for life. Then I got the opportunity to study in a related field at university, and I took it.

Why did you choose the Genetics & Genomics Ph.D. program at A&M?

I chose this program because of this university’s long history in genetics research and the excellent work being done by the current faculty.

If you were free to choose anything, what research question/topic would you like to address for your graduate studies?

Nothing is set in stone, I’m playing around with a few ideas in my head. And I guess I’ll get a better idea when I start my lab rotations. But something that I find exciting right now is the role of the microbiome in health and disease, and how metagenomic signatures differ between patients and healthy individuals.

Fun Facts:

• What would be your dream job after graduation from the program?

The dream is to start my lab in some quaint countryside location and let the research take me where it will without any distractions.

• Do you have any pets? If so, please tell us about them.

I love cats, but don’t have many long-term pets. We mostly rescue and give them up for adoption. I say “rescue” in the loosest sense, the cats just find us and lord over us, passing judgment on whether service was satisfactory 😂 . Right now, I have a very playful kitten named “Chana” who loves to zoom around the house like a ping-pong ball and has a penchant for climbing.

• Favorite place you have traveled to.

Kaptai Lake in Chittagong, Bangladesh.