Jana Joha

I completed my Bachelor of Science at University College Dublin (UCD) in 2022, specialising in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I am currently a 1st year Biochemistry DPhil (PhD) student at the University of Oxford.Some of my academic achievements include securing summer research scholarships from the Irish Cancer Society and Health Research Board, attaining a first class honours, graduating top of my class, and winning the Highly Commended Award for my thesis on Alzheimer's Disease awarded by the Global Undergraduate Awards, which I carried out on exchange at the University of Copenhagen. Outside of my course, I became Deputy Science, Health and Technology Editor at UCD's student newspaper, The University Observer. I interviewed several prominent researchers and entrepreneurs at UCD, including UCD alumni Prof Teresa Lambe, OBE, who co-developed the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. My journalism work earned me a nomination at the National Student Media Awards 2022 (SMEDIAS) for the SFI Award for Journalism relating to Science and Technology. During the pandemic, I started providing online one-to-one maths lessons and I have been tutoring Junior Cycle maths students for about 2 years now. I am passionate about learning, education and science communication. Throughout my time in UCD, I have gained a deeper appreciation for mathematics and how it can help us to understand the very nature of our universe and reality. I strive to not only teach the fundamental concepts of maths to students, but to also show how important mathematical thinking and understanding is in today's world. I don't believe in failure, there's only success and opportunities for learning. Maths is not something that only a few can understand. Anyone who is eager, interested and curious about the world around them can learn and understand maths, regardless of ability or aptitude. With small, consistent and focused effort, every student can achieve their full potential and excel in any subject. I strongly believe in this philosophy, I actively try to employ and follow it both when I teach and in my own life.