Mikhail Rashkovskii

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT MIKHAIL RASHKOVSKII

It might sound naive, presumptuous, or trivial, but I want to change the world! I’m trying to do it on two fronts that I think greatly strengthen each other: science and politics. Scientists should be able to think freely to make the world a better place. Economics, government regulations, and freedom of speech all influence the effectiveness of the scientific community. Unfortunately, I could clearly see this influence in the example of my home country, Russia. On the other hand, science has a great influence on politics. The structure of government and society has evolved alongside scientific discoveries. Moreover, science is universal, so a significant discovery made in one country would eventually improve the lives of people all over the world. I’ve been curious about chemistry and biology since childhood and was excited to delve into in-depth studies of biochemistry and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. I had a great cancer research experience in Amity Manning’s Lab, where I practiced multiple molecular biology and bioinformatics skills. Two of my internships were in biotech startups, and it was an amazing experience. At HebeCell, I worked on the application of Natural Killer cells in Immunotherapy, and at Conigen, I learned how to produce and characterize proteins, antibodies, and virus-like particles. My interest in politics emerged after high school, when I began examining how society functions in Russia. I’ve been at multiple protests, both as a participant and as a journalist, attended court, and witnessed my friends getting arrested. The peak of my political work in Russia was being a Political Campaign Coordinator, where, together with 30 initiative citizens, we organized an official petition to reinstate direct elections of city mayors in our region. I was responsible for social media, as well as volunteer recruitment and coordination. We successfully collected 10 thousand physical signatures from people in the Sverdlovsk region, despite multiple attempts by the police to interfere and even arrest the volunteers. This is my story and motivation to grow in both science and politics. I cannot wait for the next chapter!