Mohammed Mostajo-Radji

Mohammed Mostajo-Radji is a Bolivian graduate student at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. He received a degree in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics and a minor in Science, Technology and Society from the Rochester Institute of Technology on May, 2011.

At age 16 he presented his project denominated Possible consequences of the variation of the Earth's axis after the tsunami that affected the Southeastern region of Asia on December 2004 to the United States Embassy in Bolivia. This embassy granted him the honor to represent his country at the Youth Science Leadership Institute (YSLI), a program sponsored by the United States Department of State, the State of West Virginia and the National Youth Science Foundation. Participating in this program confirmed his desire to pursue an education in the Biological Sciences. Mohammed has performed research in different scientific areas, such as Molecular Biology, Human Genetics, Biophysics, Organic Chemistry and Cellular Physiology, which he has presented in several local, national and international conferences. Due to his involvement in scientific research, Mohammed has become a member of the American Society of Human Genetics and the American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

Besides researching, Mohammed spent a significant amount of his time mentoring students. He has worked for the National Youth Science Foundation as the Natural Sciences Coordinator for the National Youth Science Camp and as a Student Mentor for the West Virginia Governor's School for Mathematics and Sciences. He has also worked for the Department of Biological Sciences of the Rochester Institute of Technology as a Student Tutor for different Biology classes and as a Teaching Assistant for several laboratory courses. Additionally, Mohammed worked as a Resident Advisor for first-year students of the Rochester Institute of Technology and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, developing different programs to educate students and to build a community among his peers.

His involvement in different scientific areas and his abilities to educate students have awarded Mohammed multiple recognitions, such as the Medal to the Municipal Merit granted by the City of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia; the Intellectual Merit Award granted by the Department (State) of Beni, Bolivia, which he has obtained twice; De La Salle Alumni Association Medal to the Excellency in Academics; the RIT International Student Scholarship; the Nathaniel Rochester Society Scholarship; the John Wiley Jones award for Outstanding Students in Science, the David M. Baldwin Memorial Scholarship and the RIT Student Government Freshman Achievement Scholarship, among other awards.