Persistence and passion will open a lifetime of possibilities promises Mac grad during annual research day

Roopali Chaudhary has some well-earned words of reassurance for students who’ve yet to find their way.

“You still have lots of time. You’ll eventually figure out who you are and what you’re meant to be doing with your life. Just don’t expect it to happen overnight.”

Chaudhary should know – finding her way started when she was an undergrad at the University of Toronto and continued through grad school and her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Waterloo and then McMaster.

Chaudhary shared her story with graduate students and faculty as the keynote speaker for the 13^th annual Grad Research Day in the Department of Biology. “This is a full-circle moment with some familiar faces in the audience,” said Chaudhary, who was earning her PhD when Grad Research Day launched in 2013.

She introduced herself as a proud Indo-Canadian, scientist, entrepreneur, CEO, founder, lead researcher and senior director, baker and woodworker. It’s a far longer list than she ever imagined growing up. Chaudhary spent her childhood watching a lot of Hindi movies where leading women were invariably cast as supportive and saintly nurses. “But I really don’t like taking orders from anyone so I decided I’d be a doctor.”

That was Chaudhary’s postsecondary plan until a third-year undergrad genetics lecture that introduced her to the late Barbara McClintock, an American scientist and cytogeneticist who didn’t go to medical school, earned a PhD in botany, discovered genetic transposition and received the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Chaudhary would later create a post about McClintock while working as a content editor with Sci-Illustrate.

In McClintock, Chaudhary found a role model and for the first time realized that science could be more than a path to medical school. “As a scientist, I could build a career out of studying problems.”

Her parents didn’t know what to make of this change in plans. They understood medical school. But graduate school to study genetics at the University of Waterloo? That was a mystery.

After completing her master’s degree, Chaudhary pursued a PhD in cell / cellular and molecular biology with Dr. Juliet Daniel as her supervisor. Watching Daniel and her new lab mates in action is where Chaudhary realized she needed more than persistence – passion was equally important. “Passion drives purpose – it constantly reminds you why you’re doing whatever you’re doing. Persistence opens up possibilities. And possibilities bring opportunities.”

This is also around the time when Chaudhary finally figured herself out. She originally thought she’d stay in academia after her postdoctoral fellowship – “I love teaching and doing research” – but those plans, like going to medical school, changed.

Chaudhary instead followed her other passion for community-building and launched Lotus STEMM in 2018 – it’s a networking and leadership platform for South Asian women in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine.

While she had passion and persistence, she knew nothing about running a not-for-profit. She registered Lotus STEMM with the federal government while having coffee at her neighbourhood Second Cup. “It took everything in my power not to curl up and hide underneath the table.”

Today, Chaudhary’s non-profit is leading a breaking barriers research project in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia aimed at increasing the number of South Asian women taking on leadership roles in STEMM. Her commitment to fostering inclusive communities within STEMM has been recognized by RCIScience with a King Charles III Coronation Medal.

Chaudhary missed the discoveries and camaraderie that happens in a lab. So two years later, she joined Allarta Life Science as the senior director of cells and biomaterial integration. She works full-time while continuing to lead Lotus STEMM.

She also somehow finds time to do woodworking, a fledgling hobby that turned into a full-on passion project during the pandemic and continues to this day.

Baking’s her other hobby. “Who doesn’t love carbs, sugar and fat?” At one point, she considered launching a catering business where she could turn her passion for science communication into custom-made cakes for conferences, PhD defences, retirement parties and anywhere that researchers got together to celebrate.

During her keynote at Grad Research Day, Chaudhary showed off a photo of one of her conversation-starting cakes decorated with giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches made out of cupcakes and modelling chocolate.

“Definitely not a cake you’d serve at a wedding.” But at a retirement party for a prof who spent a career studying gromphadorhina portentosa? “It was perfect.”