A graduate student smiles on a rock atop a mountain overlooking a lake.

Victoria Marando

Image courtesy of subject.

Graduate Student Spotlight: Victoria Marando

by Danielle Doughty | Department of Chemistry |
Categories: Research, Students

Chemistry Graduate Student Victoria Marando describes her research and answers 20 random questions as part of the Graduate Student Spotlight series.

Victoria Marando comes to MIT from King City, Ontario, and is a fourth year graduate student in Professor Laura Kiessling‘s lab.

“All cells are covered in glycan coats and there is a need for new tools to study their structure and function,” said Victoria.  “My work aims to develop new tools to study bacterial cell surface glycans during growth, division and infection. I decided to pursue a PhD in chemistry because I wanted to develop skills to tackle important health challenges, such as antibiotic resistance.”

As the subject of this month’s Graduate Student Spotlight, Victoria shares the most interesting place she’s ever been, the contents of her bucket list, the food she craves most often, and more!

  1. If you could pick any career other than the one you’ve chosen, what would it be?
    Professional Hockey Player.
  2. What food do you crave most often?
    Area4 Pizza.
  3. What sport could you play the longest in a televised game, without anyone discovering you aren’t a professional athlete?
    Field hockey (specifically as a goalie).
  4. What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken?
    Hiking around Italy and Greece.
  5. What’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched?
    Mean Girls.
  6. What was your favorite book as a child?
    Matilda by Roald Dahl.
  7. Who would be in the lineup for your ideal music festival?
    P!nk, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Shania Twain, Simple Plan, Abba.
  8. Who would be the best person you could be stuck in an elevator with?
    My grandmother, because she would definitely have great snacks.
  9. What would be your ideal way to spend the weekend?
    Camping somewhere with a cool lake.
  10.  Where was the most amazing sunset you have ever seen?
    The arctic circle in northern Sweden.
  11.  What movie title best describes your life?
    The Hunger Games, because I am often hungry.
  12.  What movie, picture, or video always makes you laugh no matter how often you watch it?
    Childhood videos of my brother and me.
  13.  If you could have a never-ending candle that smelled like anything you wanted, what fragrance would you want it to be?
    Pizza.
  14.  An epic feast is held in your honor, what’s on the table?
    Pizza.
  15.  Who has impressed you most with what they’ve accomplished?
    My mom.
  16.  What would be the most amazing adventure to go on?
    A road trip across all of Canada.
  17.  What is on your bucket list?
    I’d like to visit every continent.
  18.  What one thing do you really want but can’t afford?
    A canoe.
  19.  If you suddenly became a master at woodworking, what would you make?
    A canoe.
  20.  Where is the most interesting place you’ve been?
    The Abba museum in Stockholm.

Many thanks to Victoria for these thoughtful answers! Stay tuned for more Graduate Student Spotlights in the months to come!