Nikita Agithkumar (biochemistry and microbiology)
This summer, Nikita Anselene Shimmy Agithkumar (she/her) is on her third co-op with STEMCELL Technologies, a biotech company that provides material, instruments, technology and resources to scientists around the world who are researching stem cells, immunology, cancer, regenerative medicine and cellular therapy.
A Changemaker Award Recipient
Nikita is one of the recipients of the UVic Changemaker Awards, which celebrate co-op students who have made significant contributions to their workplace, community and/or to their own personal learning.
Chynna received the Sustainable Development Goals award, which recognizes students who have actively contributed towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during their co-op work term.
Addressing material waste
As a lab-based quality control co-op student in a containment lab, Nikita noticed a high daily use of plastics and biohazardous materials such as pipette tips, culture plates, and waste bags.
Nikita saw a link between the use of materials and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) 12: Responsible Consumption and Production (Goal 12). She collaborated with the lab operations team to implement a KANBAN inventory system, a Japanese workflow management system helps manage stock levels efficiently and reduces over ordering.
“I began by taking lab inventory and identified a significant amount of expired and unused materials, which I helped donate to an educational lab to prevent waste,” she says. “I then categorized approximately 70 lab items based on usage frequency and developed color-coded KANBAN labels that included ordering details and minimum stock levels.”
Nikita’s initiative led to a 70 percent reduction of material orders, lowering both waste and operational costs. She is currently working on simplifying how label information can be updated to ensure the system remains sustainable after her final co-op with STEMCELL.
Increasing access to STEM
In addition to her sustainability efforts, Nikita also supported initiatives aligned with UN SDG Goal 4: Quality Education, and Goal 5: Gender Equality. She volunteered with the community relations team to support outreach programs like Girls in STEAM at Science World.
“In this program, I helped teach girls aged 12 to 16 about cell biology and organized hands-on activities like DNA extraction and coding a liquid handler machine to make art in order to make science more approachable and engaging so that gender disparity is reduced.”
Learning new skills
Nikita also took advantage of STEMCELL’s educational resources on research being done on cancer and fostering a healthy, inclusive and diverse work environment. She participated in workshops and seminars offered through partnerships with organizations such as TELUS and BCIT.
These sessions focused on topics like mental health, inclusive workplaces and sustainable applications of Al, helping Nikita to broaden her understanding of equity and responsibility in science.
The impact of co-op
“These co-op experiences at STEMCELL have given me the opportunity to enrich my education and make a real difference,” says Nikita. “I am proud that I’ve been able to improve sustainable workflows and actively connect with underrepresented communities.”