Nabiha Saklayen, PhD
“The students who are the most successful in the lab are the ones who are not willing to give up. It doesn’t matter what your academic training is, it’s about dedication and hard work.”
I play the harmonium and have been performing South Asian music since I was three. I love being surrounded by lots of bright colors, art, and things that remind me of my travels. I have a goldendoodle named Photon. As a woman of color in a leadership role, I’ve often had to prove to others why I deserve to be there. I use laser-based technology to generate cells that can be transplanted into patients to treat diseases. I am a Biotech Entrepreneur.
Right now, when we get sick, we often turn to one-size-fits-all treatments to help us get better, but they don’t always work for everyone or for every disease. Scientists have been working on ways to “personalize” medicine, by providing treatments that are highly specific to each patient’s needs. One of those treatments is to transplant healthy cells into a patient to replace unhealthy ones, kind of like a blood transfusion but for different parts of your body. Instead of getting someone else’s cells, you would get more of your own. The new cells might even be specially engineered to deliver medicines that you need. It sounds like science fiction, but when I was in graduate school studying physics, I used lasers and nanotechnology to invent a new way to help make this possible. After talking to many biologists, I realized the technique I developed could be really useful in healthcare, so I patented my invention and co-founded Cellino, a biotechnology company where I’m now the CEO. We’ve continued to evolve my original technique to make it safer and easier to generate new healthy cells to help treat diseases, which brings us one step closer to making personalized cell therapies widely available to everyone.
I’ve always been driven to make a positive impact, but when my grandmother passed away from diabetes complications, I knew I wanted my research and inventions to have real world applications. If the medical industry can develop the technologies we need to move towards a new, more personalized approach to medicine, we can save a lot of lives. I want to be part of that.
As a woman of color in a CEO role, I’ve often faced others questioning why I deserve to be here. Only a small percentage of biotech CEOs are women, and even fewer are women of color specifically, so instead of putting energy into those who doubt me, I put my energy towards supporting the success of others. I believe that supporting future scientists and entrepreneurs, particularly those who may face barriers due to their race, gender, or other factors outside of their control, is a critical step towards a more inclusive and just world. I believe it so much that I co-created the I Am a Scientist program!
I was born in Saudi Arabia, and growing up I was always surrounded by a lot of love, a lot of music, and a lot of play. We moved often because my dad was a Foreign Services Officer. When I was 5, we moved to Bangladesh, where my family is from. It was the first time that I noticed being treated differently than others, particularly my cousins who were boys. From a young age, I wanted everyone to be treated equally – something I learned from my mom who was an activist and social worker – so I started speaking up for myself and learning to navigate other people’s assumptions.
I was born in Saudi Arabia, and growing up I was always surrounded by a lot of love, a lot of music, and a lot of play. We moved often because my dad was a Foreign Services Officer. When I was 5, we moved to Bangladesh, where my family is from. It was the first time that I noticed being treated differently than others, particularly my cousins who were boys. From a young age, I wanted everyone to be treated equally – something I learned from my mom who was an activist and social worker – so I started speaking up for myself and learning to navigate other people’s assumptions.
We moved to Bangladesh again for a year when I was 13, then to Sri Lanka for high school. My mom chose Sri Lanka because she wanted me to attend the best high school possible. It was the first time that I attended a program that was highly competitive and structured, and the first time that I felt pressure to perform well. We couldn’t afford the tutors that other kids had, so my goal was to work hard to keep my grades high enough to not get kicked out. At the same time, the Sri Lankan civil war was happening around us, which made me grateful just to be alive. I channeled that into motivation to make the most of every day, and became a top student. I competed in Model UN, and won international prizes in chemistry and writing. It opened up a lot of new opportunities for me, because it meant I could attend university on a scholarship and wouldn’t have to worry about finances..
I went to Emory University in the US, where I kept my studies as broad as possible. I knew I wanted to pursue science, but I also wanted to take as many humanities and arts classes as possible. I still believe that helped give me an edge in science, because I had learned to think outside of the box. When I finally went to grad school, I was ready to completely focus on physics research. It was a very intense time that required a lot of discipline. When I learned about the meeting point between physics and biology, I was inspired and motivated to use physics to build something useful for biologists, and invented a new laser-based technology by the time I graduated.
I am a true maximalist – I love being surrounding by a wide variety of tastes, sounds, colors, and ideas. When I travel, I look for something I can bring home as a memory, so that when I see it in my space it will remind me of that place and moment in my life. I enjoy exploring the world through culture, food, fashion, and music. I’m always experimenting with clothing, making recipes from international cuisines, and searching for new music. Recently I’ve been getting into Nigerian and other international music. I’m very impacted by my environment – what it looks like, feels like, sounds like – so I seek out new sounds from around the globe that can keep my energy up and my space inspired.
I believe that creativity is a powerful skill, both in the sciences and the arts. That’s why I insisted on taking arts and humanities classes in college, even though I knew I wanted to be a scientist. Being a creative person makes me a better scientist because it helps me look at problems in new ways. Both of my parents are musicians, and I’ve been surrounded by music my entire life. I started singing and playing the harmonium (a popular wind instrument in South Asian culture) as a child, and still love to play with my family. When I have time, I also really enjoy doing crafts and painting with acrylics. One day I’d love to take a break from work and go on a long trip to build my skills as an artist, and develop my own personal artistic style.
Every week of my career brings something new that I’ve never done before. Both entrepreneurship and science are commitments to a constant state of learning and challenging yourself to grow. You have to embrace the inevitable chaos, failures, and uncertainties that come with it. No one has it all figured out. Figuring it out is just part of the process. I’ve found that great support systems can make a big difference. It’s important to surround yourself with friends, family, mentors, and a community that you can lean on (and then to actually lean on them when you need it). It’s also important to be a support system for yourself, which starts with accepting that it’s going to take hard work and you’re going to make mistakes. But with the right skills, patience, and determination, you can make your goals happen.
