BIO
Born in South Korea in 1985, Dr. Crystal Shin grew up in a loving Buddhist household with two younger sisters. Her father worked as a pharmacist, and her mother was involved in musical activities—in fact, Shin describes her family as very musical, as all three children played different instruments. She fondly recalls the frequent road trips that her family would take, as well as an elementary school after-school program called Young Astronauts Korea, which she believes kickstarted her early love for science. In 2000, Shin, along with her mother and sisters, immigrated to Fairfax, Virginia. Although she encountered language barriers that made the initial adjustment frustrating, Shin enjoyed her high school experience there, and did not feel out of place, as there were many other Koreans in northern Virginia. Shin obtained a BS in Food Science at Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana, in 2007. After graduating, she first worked as a food technologist, and then planned to pursue pharmacy school. However, after working as a lab technician, she realized how much she enjoyed research, and decided to enter graduate school. Thus, in 2014, Shin obtained her PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences, also from Purdue University. In 2014, Shin settled in Houston, where she currently works as a tenure-track assistant professor in the Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research interests include pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical engineering, such as developing biomaterials like surgical mesh and vascular grafts. However, her favorite part of her job is seeing her lab members—from undergraduates to postdocs—getting excited about their research. Shin is involved in organizations such as the Korean American Scientists and Engineers Association and Korean-American Women in Science and Engineering, and also finds time to pursue her hobbies outside of her career—for instance, as a flute player in the Houston Shimmer Flute Choir.