TFS - Canada's International School

As a teacher and scientist, she is passionate about advancing knowledge, translating research into action, and engaging the public in the importance of science and engineering. In 2020 she received the NSERC Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering, awarded for both the sustained excellence and overall influence of research work conducted in Canada in the natural sciences or engineering. Molly is a 2013 recipient of TFS' Le prix de distinction des anciens élèves. How has your TFS experience impacted your journey? M S TFS was an environment that encouraged curiosity and learning, and to ask questions about the world you live in. We were always encouraged to dream and think big. That's what inspired me to apply to MIT, where I pursued chemistry. TFS also gave me the opportunity to participate and get out of my comfort zone to try new things. That, coupled with a really great education, opened up so many opportunities for me and it's something that I hold very dear. You're a mentor and inspiration to so many people. Who in your life has inspired you? M S I'm someone who seeks guidance from different people. I've had a lot of inspiration from my family. My parents always said, "We can open the doors, but you're the one who has to walk through them." Just that way of looking at the world – the idea of thinking big and putting yourself out there and going for it – that's something I continue through my own mentorship of students, and also as a mom with my own children. There is a long list of people who have helped me bring my best game. My graduate students and postdocs, for example, they have challenged me to think differently. There are so many people who inspire me. TFS encourages intellectual curiosity. How has curiosity played a role in your own research? M S Science is about asking questions. That's the fundamental root of everything I do. Curiosity is the key to knowing what question to ask and then finding ways to answer that question. And that often leads us to discover things that we never thought we would discover. Sometimes, what we think is a failed experiment is actually a whole new discovery. In my lab I really try to build an environment where people take ownership of their projects. They may have ideas that are different from mine. So, it's about providing an environment where they will ask questions, and they will challenge me in terms of my ideas. Which is great because that's what science is about. Sometimes they're wrong and sometimes I'm wrong, and that's okay. That's part of all of us learning together. What advice would you give TFS students today? M S I think that all of us who are at TFS, or have graduated from TFS, have had opportunities that not very many people have. And so, the question is, what are you going to do with it? How are you going to take these advantages and do something with them and try and make the world better – whether it's your own little world, or to impact the bigger world. Not everything you do has to be earth-shattering, but you can still change the world around you and make a difference. Molly Shoichet '83 has always wanted to make a positive impact on the lives of others. The University of Toronto science professor is internationally renowned for her pioneering research in tissue engineering. A L U M N I P R O F I L E 1 4

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