Meet Jeannette Ingabire. Ingabire is a fourth- year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Systems, Synthetic, and Physical Biology at Rice University. Ingabire is from Rwanda and is a Rice Graduate Ambassador. Ambassadors are students who represent the university and help prospective students gain knowledge of student life as a graduate student at Rice.
Ingabire chose Rice as a graduate school because of Rice’s location in Houston and the Texas Medical Center for collaboration opportunities. Her research focuses on optimizing a non-invasive neuromodulation technology called magneto genetics. This technology would allow us to inhibit and activate deep areas in the brain without needing to implant electrodes in the brain.
When she is not conducting research, she serves in various leadership roles within the Rice community. She is a part of Rice Salseros on campus.
Ingabire advises prospective students to talk to faculty and students to get a sense of the environment they are interested in joining to help determine their decisions.
“Interviewing with faculty will allow you to identify your academic fit,” said Ingabire. “But to determine if you will thrive in an environment, you should talk to students doing research there and paying rent in that location.”
Ingabire advises current students that in order to actually thrive in graduate school, students will need to find a balance between research and activities that brings them fulfillment.
“With research, you have to plan ahead of time about what experiments you will do and why,” said Ingabire. “You should carve out time to do your hobbies, take weekend trips, and spend time with your loved ones.”
Ingabire is quadrilingual and enjoys going to Little Hen with her friends while dressing as a princess and enjoying their afternoon tea in British Style.
Graduate ambassadors can be contacted via email at gradambassadors@rice.edu. Jeannette Ingabire can be contacted directly by email at ji9@rice.edu.