Graduates | 刘静：保持热爱，常有惊喜

Original 广以君广东以色列理工学院 2023-04-29

收录于合集 #广以毕业生专访 40个

白驹过隙，又一届毕业生奔赴各自人生的星辰大海。四年点滴交织闪耀，光亮照向浩瀚征途。广东以色列理工学院2018级本科毕业生系列采访将带大家走进广以学子们的故事，回忆往昔峥嵘岁月，共盼未来似锦前程。

本期我们将与大家分享生物技术与食品工程专业毕业生刘静的故事。

刘静

生物技术与食品工程

2018级毕业生

毕业高中：山东省实验中学

本科专业：生物技术与食品工程

录取院校：魏兹曼科学研究所

获得奖项：

2018-2019：学业优秀奖学金二等奖，副校长嘉许名单

2019-2020：学业优秀奖学金一等奖，副校长嘉许名单，优秀学生记者

2020-2021：学业优秀奖学金二等奖，副校长嘉许名单

刘静回顾大学四年，有学科难度带来的挑战，有对未来悬而未决的迷茫。但她始终以兴趣为导向，带着理想出发，力学笃行。毕业时，她满面笑容地说道：“我非常享受自己的大学生活！”

兴趣为锚，向上生长

“我小时候就喜欢生物，经常观察爷爷种的花，爸爸给我送的显微镜为我打开生物的大门。高中时更系统的学习让我发现自己对细胞和蛋白质的兴趣，未来也希望深耕这两个方向。”刘静认为，广以的中外合办性质符合她出国深造的预期，崭新充足的实验设备更是硬件保障。

刘静在生物1课堂做presentation介绍尺蠖

“广以给了我非常大的发展空间，喜欢什么就去学什么。”大一的“生物1（Biology I）”课程让她受益匪浅。“这门课覆盖面是最广的，将生物学科各个方面罗列出来，帮助我确定了研究方向。到了大三，我可以选择自己感兴趣的领域，比如基础遗传学、进阶遗传学、干细胞等。而对于喜欢食品方向的同学，也有很多相关的选修课供选择。”

谈到如何保持优秀成绩时，刘静认为这得益于自己的兴趣。“一方面，学自己喜欢的东西会很享受，即使学的过程挑战重重，但特别有成就感；另一方面，我会抱着‘如何运用我所学知识’的心态去学习。比如上进阶遗传学时，我会想象如果自己在做实验，课上哪些模型用得上？这些模型能应用在哪些情景？”这种思维方式也帮助刘静在面试魏兹曼科学研究所时，流利应对考官提出的实验情景设计题，成功斩获梦校offer。

追梦路上，鼓励相伴

“我大一时，因为英语口语很差，带有浓重的山东口音，一度很自卑，不敢去上课。在英语课上，老师让我大胆说出来，带着我发现不足。在我做得不够好的时候，老师们会跟我说哪个方面‘需要再提高’，而不是‘改掉缺点’。这让我逐渐变得自信，成为了更好的自己。”

今年的毕业视频中，刘静也参与了英文配音。你能猜出哪个是她的声音吗？

因为一直浸泡在全英的语言环境中，大三考雅思时刘静第一次就考到了7分。“我当时很惊讶，原来我的英语也没有那么差，广以的环境真的让我提高很多。”

“在广以，我能感觉到老师对学生的重视。学有机化学的时候很头疼，听不懂课程内容，于是写邮件问老师问题。当时老师已经在休假，但还是给我回了很长一封邮件，为我解惑；在office hour找老师，也总能收获详尽耐心的讲解。”刘静感叹道，这四年在广以的学习让她更自信，遇到困难时懂得积极寻求帮助。她也越来越热爱科研，对未来充满希望。

“我一直觉得自己很幸运，在迷茫时有那么多老师鼓励、帮助了我，我希望我也能帮助别人更好地适应广以、确定自己的兴趣和梦想。”

知易行难，锲而不舍

追梦并非一路坦途。“如何把感兴趣的内容学好”是刘静大学四年的考题，她用学术表现交出了自己的答卷。

大一下学期，她担任Introduction to Biochemistry and Enzimol助教课的朋辈助教（Peer Tutor），为低年级学生提供辅导。“Yigal教授曾经说过：‘教学是学习的绝佳途径（The best way to learn is teaching）’。课上有些同学提出的问题是我从未思考过的，讲解时自己也再学了一遍。考完试后，很多来上过课的同学告诉我帮助很大，我非常有成就感，很开心自己真的帮到了别人。”

刘静（右三）在实验室

到了大二，刘静基本确定自己的兴趣点在胚胎干细胞和癌症基因上，大三开始亲身参与到科研项目中。“感谢当时实验室管理员的指导，我很享受做实验的感觉，每次都有小惊喜，比如看到自己制作的切片染色结果的时候！”随后，她加入徐新鹏教授的细胞动力学研究组，参与到一个科研项目的完整流程。从实验的构思、设计，到分析结果、修正假设，刘静开始体会到科研解密的乐趣，并欣喜地发现自己离梦想更近了一步。

刘静（右上）在魏兹曼科学研究所参加科研项目

大四的寒假，刘静看到自己的梦校——魏兹曼科学研究所提供科研实习的机会，其中一位导师研究的就是蛋白质结构方向，与自己兴趣点相契合。报名之后发现大多数人是清华北大的，她有点犯怵。两轮面试后刘静成功入选，跟着两位大牛导师， Joel Sussman 教授和 Israel Silman 教授进行“比较AI预测（AlphaFold2，RoseTTAFold）的随机序列蛋白质和自然蛋白质结构”的研究。“同组组员来自国内其他顶尖高校，我告诉自己绝不能拖后腿。”知易行难，因为Python导论拿过99分高分，本来刘静对自己信心满满，但在dry-lab实验使用PyMol的时候还是遇到难题。“感谢教授一直耐心教我，我了解到科研中新发现和新想法是最重要的。经过两个月的实验，我们真的发现了一些有趣的东西！更惊喜的是，在这次实习中我获得了‘Outstanding’，两位导师也给我写了强推，现在我们已经投递文章啦！”

该论文已投递至PROTEINS: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics，预印版已提交BioRxiv，待正式发表。刘静与袁荣卿为共同一作。

面对“女孩子是否不适合读理工”的质疑，刘静认为，这和性别无关，最重要的还是兴趣。“我觉得女科学家取得的成就丝毫不亚于男科学家。比如我们的系主任Dganit Danino教授，她认为女性科学家也应该取得非常高的成就，并一直鼓励我追求自己的热爱。而且广以名列前茅的学生里女生也有很多！”

2019年暑假，第13届亚洲科学夏令营在广以举行。刘静担任媒体志愿者，不仅有机会聆听各种大咖的讲座，也有机会采访来自亚洲各个国家热爱科学的青少年。“我还记得每天都笑容满面的柬埔寨女孩Lynit，只有16岁的她已经是大一的学生，帮我弄明白了不少计算机科学讲座听不懂的名词。Lynit让我第一次感受到热爱科学的力量，也更加坚定了我未来投身科研事业的理想。”

刘静（左）与Lynit

“悟已往之不谏，知来者之可追”是刘静给学弟学妹的建议。“我之前经常会后悔没有抓住一些很好的机会，但现在，我认为从中学到未来该怎么做才是最重要的。”她也认为，保持希望很重要。“等待魏兹曼offer是一个煎熬漫长的过程，但就像《基督山伯爵》这个故事里讲的一样，要相信属于自己的机会终会来临。”

Time flies and the second cohort of students graduate from Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology (GTIIT) this year. In the series of interviews with the graduates from the Class of 2022, we will show their stories at GTIIT in the past four years.

Here is the story of Liu Jing, a student of the Class of 2022 from the Biotechnology and Food Engineering Program.

Liu Jing

Biotechnology and Food Engineering

High school: Shandong Experimental High School

Awards:

GTIIT Academic Excellence Scholarship

GTIIT Vice Chancellor's List

Outstanding Student Journalist

Received offers from:

Weizmann Institute of Science

Liu Jing recalls her four years in GTIIT: challenging though, she guides her way based on her own interest and works really hard. When she graduates, she smiles and says, “I enjoy my university life!”

“I am learning what I like”

“I grew up loving biology. As a child, I liked to observe flowers my grandpa planted, and the microscope my father bought opened my door to biology. After learning in senior high school, I found my interest in cells and protein, and determined to dig deeper into them.” Liu Jing says that GTIIT fits in her expectation of pursuing further study overseas. Besides, the new and sophisticated instruments in labs also attracted her.

Liu Jing gave a presentation about Inchworm

“GTIIT gives me chances to learn whatever I like.” Liu says she's benefited a lot from “Biology I”. “The course covers almost every topic in biology, like a map to help me find my direction. When I went to my junior year, I can take elective courses based on my interest, like General Genetics, Advanced Genetics, Stem Cells, etc.”

“I get good grades because I am learning what I like. I enjoy the process, which is challenging but fulfilling as well. Moreover, I am learning with the question ‘how can I apply what I've learned’ in mind. For example, when I was taking Advanced Genetics, I would imagine I was doing an experiment, and consider which model I can use in different conditions.” This way of learning helped Liu fluently respond to the lab design questions in the Weizmann Institute of Science interview and receive her dream offer.

A journey to dream with encouragement

“When I was a freshperson, I felt inferior for my poor English with a strong Shandong accent. I even evaded speaking in class. But the teacher in English class pushed me to speak out and told me how to improve. Since then, I started to believe in myself and became a better me.”

‍In the graduation video, Liu Jing also participated in the English dubbing. Guess which her voice is!‍

Immersed in English teaching, Liu got a 7 on her first attempt at the IELTS test. “I was so surprised by my improvement! GTIIT really changed me a lot.”

“Teachers in GTIIT take students seriously. I was not good at organic chemistry and wrote emails to ask questions. The professor replied to me with a detailed explanation even though he was on a leave of absence. When I came to see teachers during office hours, they are always willing to solve my doubts.” Liu says that the four years have made her more confident and braver to seek help.

“I feel very lucky to have so many teachers encouraging and helping me when I'm confused. I want to pass the power of encouragement, and help others fit in and determine their goals.”

Diligence and passion lead to fulfillment

The journey towards dreams is rarely an easy one. Liu Jing answers “how to learn what you are interested well” by her outstanding academic performance.

Liu Jing became a peer tutor of the Introduction to Biochemistry and Enzimol in the second semester of her freshperson year. “Dr. Yigal has said that the best way to learn is teaching. When I taught my peers, they raised questions that I've never thought about, and through which I can fill my learning gaps. After the finals, many students told me that I was very helpful to them, which gave me a sense of accomplishment.”

Liu Jing (third from the right) in the lab

When she entered the second year of university, Liu Jing found her interest in embryonic stem cells and cancer genetics and joined research projects the next year. “With the guidance of the lab manager, I enjoyed doing experiments and making progress. For example, seeing the staining results!” She then participated in Prof. Xu Xinpeng's group on cell mechanics. From the conception and design to the analysis of results and revision of hypotheses, Jing Liu took part in the whole process of a project, and began to experience the joy of scientific research.

Liu Jing (top right corner) in the Weizmann project

During the winter break of her senior year, Liu Jing applied for the intern project at her dream school, the Weizmann Institute of Science, where one of the supervisors studied protein structure that was of her interest. At first, she worried about whether she could be enrolled, as her competitors were mostly from other top universities in China. But after two rounds of interviews, she got what she wanted and was able to join Prof. Joel Sussman and Prof. Israel Silman's research group of “comparison of random sequence protein and natural protein structure predicted by AI algorithms, AlphaFold2 and RoseTTAFold”. “I had excellent teammates from top schools, so I endeavored to do my best.” She had confidence since she got nearly full marks in Introduction to Python, but soon met difficulties in the dry-lab using PyMol. “Thanks professors for teaching me patiently. I also learned that it is very important to have discoveries and thoughts. After the two-month experiment, we found something interesting! And more surprisingly, I got an ‘outstanding’ for this intern and the two supervisors wrote recommendation letters for me. Now we finished writing this paper and submitted it!”

Liu Jing and Yuan Rongqing are co-first authors of the paper submitted

When confronted with arguments like “girls can't learn STEM well”, Liu thinks that it is not gender, but passion, that will determine how far you can go. “Female scientists have achieved nothing less than male scientists. Like what our dean Prof. Dganit Danino says, female scientists should achieve more and stay on their own passion. And there are a lot of female students among the top list at GTIIT!” she adds.

Summer in 2019 kicked off the 13th Asian Science Camp at GTIIT. Liu played the role of a volunteer journalist, listening to masters' lectures and interviewing participants from different countries around Asia. “I met Lynit, the cheery girl from Cambodia who has been a college student at the age of 16. She explained technical terms of computer science to me and infected me with her enthusiasm, which stiffened my ambition in science.”

Liu Jing (left) and Lynit

“Fret not over bygones and the forward journey take” – a quote from Chinese poet Tao Yuanming – is her suggestion to year-one students. “I used to regret chances that I missed, while now I learn from regrets and move on.” Staying hopeful also matters. “The time waiting for my offer is stressful and long. But just as the story The Count of Monte Cristo tells us: your opportunity will come.”

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