Sabrina Abdulla is inspiring and supporting the next generation of scientists. As the Molecule Maker Lab Institute’s Outreach and Partnerships Coordinator, she brings MMLI research in chemistry, advanced synthesis, and artificial intelligence directly to students to excite new molecule makers.

“I enjoy seeing the way that students connect with topics that we bring them,” Abdulla said. “My favorite part is seeing how they react to the activities we're doing and how hands on they are. If someone says, ‘I feel like a scientist,’ I call that a win.”

Through her own experiences, Abdulla recognizes the benefit of cultivating scientific excitement through immersive hands-on experiments and activities. Born and raised in San Jose, California, she remembers making slime and growing rock crystals when she was young. In elementary school, she wanted to become a meteorologist. “But I kept forgetting how to say meteorologist, so I would just end up picking another random thing,” she laughed.

Abdulla’s broad interest and future career aspirations in science were truly cultivated in high school. While she originally thought she didn’t like biology, Abdulla learned about molecular biology topics like DNA and how to perform gel electrophoresis in her AP biology class. This eventually led her to major in biology at the University of Oregon.

“During undergrad, I learned about different microbes, and all the little things that are going on. I worked in a lab that researched the fungus Neurospora, which is a model organism to study epigenetics and cancer. I realized that I was more interested in the organism itself which ended up drawing me into microbiology,” Abdulla said.

After graduating from Oregon in 2016, Abdulla moved to the midwest to pursue a Ph.D. in microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While carrying out her thesis research in the Vanderpool lab, she discovered her excitement for working with students through her graduate student teaching experiences. This led her to get involved in outreach and explore different career opportunities.

“There are so many different career possibilities people don't really hear about while doing a Ph.D. program,” Abdulla said. “I carved out my own time to do things like outreach events to make sure I liked it before pursuing it as a career. It was definitely a challenge, but my research advisor was very supportive of whatever I wanted to do.”

In early 2023, Abdulla earned her Ph.D. from Illinois and started her position at MMLI. In her time there, Abdulla is especially proud of developing the Molecule Maker Camp, a week-long summer camp for high school students. Throughout the week, the campers meet researchers, tour facilities, see the automated molecule synthesis robots in action, and carry out their own projects—all while learning to think like a scientist.

“We went through two iterations of the camp. The first year, I had just started my job. We ran it the best we could, but it just went okay. Since then, we’ve been working on how we can adjust and iterate on it. This year’s program went great, and the students really enjoyed it. They all came up with and ran their own experiments, and my proudest moment was when they did their final presentation."

After spending almost two years at MMLI, IGB says goodbye and sends good wishes to Abdulla as she takes the next step in her career in education and outreach. Abdulla is moving to Northwestern University to be the Assistant Director for STEM Learning Support in the office of Academic Support and Learning Advancement. In her new role, she looks forward to supporting undergraduate students in ways their curriculum doesn’t.

Abdulla said, “I’ve really enjoyed working at MMLI. My favorite parts were working with so many people at the university and in the community and exploring different areas of outreach. I look forward to continuing to work with students and see their academic journey through, and I'm excited to see where my career goes from here.”