Nida Khalil

In the fall of 2016, Nida Khalil will be an incoming senior at International School of Choueifat in Doha, Qatar.

Nida’s passion for STEM field began at a very young age. Even in elementary school her favorite classes were always Science, Math, and Biology. Nida has participated in a variety of various activities during her high school – the Debate Club and she also volunteered in Charity Carnival helping distribute food, clothes, and other necessities. She has also engaged in the yearly Cultural Day which showcased the diversity of different countries, traditional food, and clothing.

During her free time, she enjoys playing basketball, swimming, tennis, and badminton. Nida loves nature, traveling, science, photography, baking, and cooking.

This summer Nida interned at Baliga Lab at Institute for Systems Biology working on two projects: Project Feed 1010 that optimizes aquaponics and hydroponics to support year round crop production with up to 90% less water than conventional agriculture and to test if Halobacteria are able to grow in different types of complete media that we prepared in the lab. Complete Media is a growth medium for Halobacteria that enhances cell growth by providing the cells with rich nutrients such as amino acids and salts. This creates a stable environment for cells to grow. This internship has been an amazing experience for Nida – working and acquiring lab research skills, gaining invaluable experience and knowledge in laboratory procedure, microbiology, meeting new researchers, and interacting with new people.

In the future Nida wants to get a degree in Biochemistry or Biomedical Engineering and then continue working as a researcher.