NEW YORK – Isha Jain, a 20-year-old chemical and physical biology major at Harvard University, was featured as one of the Top 10 College Women in this month’s Glamour magazine. As to why she’s amazing, the magazine noted that she performed her first experiment in the fourth grade, “testing candy to figure out why some is chewy and some is hard. Since then, her accomplishments have only gotten sweeter.”
At 16, the Indian American student won $100,000 for her research on bone growth in zebra fish, she’s coauthored six published scientific papers, and she helped direct Harvard’s National Symposium for the Advancement of Women in Science, reported India-West newspaper.
Singled out by the magazine as “The Scientist,” her dream is “to research disease mechanisms, and help find cures. And to see as many women as men in the highest levels in all science fields,” she was quoted as saying, adding that “if only a small percentage of wome n are involved in science, we’re slowing the rate at which we’ll make new discoveries.” In a humorous aside, Jain confessed that she can’t live without Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza. “I just can’t help my addiction!” she said.
The daughter of Drs. Himanshu and Sweety Jain, Jain was prompted to enter Glamour’s competition by her pre-frosh host at MIT, who was also a winner of the award. Jain said her interest in science was sparked by role model and Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn, whose articles inspired Jain as a seventh grader.
After her application was considered based on a variety of qualifications including merit, leadership, and service, Jain underwent a long interview process last spring. Jain was on campus with her mother when she receiving the call with the good news.
“We screamed and danced a little bit,” Jain admitted to the Harvard Crimson. Jain wanted people to know that while she was deemed “the scientist” by Glamour, she is anything but a lab rat. “I dance a lot, make jewelry, and play soccer. I was excited about the award because it shows young girls that science can be glamorous and not just a dorky field with big glasses and a lab coat,” Jain said.
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