By Niyathi Kukkapalli

Nice to meet you, I’m Niyathi, a rising high school senior! Well, it may or may not come as a shock to you that Biology was not my first scientific passion. During my time in high school I’ve attended the *PROMYS & **PACT Programs, performed Physics & Math Research, and have solved maybe one too many math or physics problems in the Olympiad series. In general, I considered myself more of a math or physics oriented person and really thought that problem solving was only prevalent in those fields. So uh, Niyathi. What does Biology have to do with any of that? Don’t worry, I’m getting there. 

Since Elementary, I’ve been involved in Science Olympiad and have competed in all types of events! To those who are not familiar with it, it’s a team based science competition where you compete in various events that are usually categorized into study or build events. Of course, since it’s “Science” Olympiad, many of the events were Biology related and ranged from Cell Biology, Disease Detectives, Anatomy, etc. In middle school, I chose the event Anatomy and Physiology, and though at the time I wasn’t a huge fan of Biology, I instantly loved it! Anatomy is the study about how you breath, move, and what is going on underneath all that skin – it was incredibly fascinating. Continuing my Science Olympiad journey, I participated in Anatomy once again in high school, and let me tell you, I’ll never fully understand the human body – there’s so much!

I find Biology to be more visible than mathematics. While the latter is incredibly thought provoking, there is a charm to being able to imagine a small ball with the nucleus, ribosomes, etc. all hidden inside. Math is applicable everywhere in life, but biology IS the study of life. In my high school Biology class, we learned about transcription and translation, and I could just imagine the Polymerase going along the pre - mRNA and seeing the proteins being made. 

Typically, when you think of Biology, you might think of the double helix or an agar plate — but Biology is so much more than that! There are the intricacies of DNA, the bizarre plasmids, and the revolutionary field of Biotechnology. My goal is to spread the inventions and concepts of Biotech and Biology to everyone! I love to write, and in my free time I add to my STEM (mathematics focused) Blog, “Algebraic Arcanum”. This is where I write about my experiences and great scientists' experiences to inspire others to pursue STEM related activities. In addition to writing for my blog, my school newspaper, and a couple other blogs, I’m so excited to contribute to Amino Labs, spread STEM, and learn more about Biology through the art of writing!

A landscape drawing of mine from Middle School

In the rest of my free time, I also love to draw and paint! I’ve competed in competitions like Scholastic Art & Writing, International Constitution Poster Contest, and Celebrating Art! My favorite thing to paint are vast landscapes – like above! This tends to come in handy when drawing the cell. I’m excited to share my learning journey with you. Stay tuned for more writings from me!

*A selective 6 week proof based mathematics program for high schoolers at Boston University 

**A theoretical computer science program taught by Rajiv Gandhi held at Princeton University