The STEM Demystified Digital Portal is now live, a new home for real STEM stories made for teachers, educators, and curious young learners. Built to make STEM feel closer, friendlier, and genuinely possible, the portal brings together global role‑model stories, interactive exploration, and classroom‑ready inspiration. It’s a growing resource designed to help children see themselves in STEM, and to give educators an easy way to bring real‑world representation into lessons. Explore the portal at stemdemystified.com.
Welcome to another edition of STEM Demystified, a project to tackle women under-representation in STEM. This weekly Newsletter will showcase how women are conquering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics worldwide.
Today Jayati Jain Aggarwal is our STEM role model. Born in India, she had an aptitude for science and a curious mind from an early age. When growing up, she read a lot about the growing biotech space in India and Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the founder of Biocon, who ended up being a role model and a great mentor for her.
Despite her strong determination, she faced some challenges along the way which she overcame by learning about technology and how she could combine it with her academic background. Now, Jayati is an experienced Business Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the IT and healthcare industry. Her special focus has been on AI, Biotech, Healthcare Management and Drug Discovery.
She is a strong business development professional with a PhD focused on Bio-nanotechnology in Cancer from University of Oxford and BSc in Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University. Currently works as the Executive Director at Fluid AI, based in Mumbai, where she lives with her family. Let’s now dive into her story and find out more details about her journey.
What was your trajectory from school to where you currently are professionally or academically?
I studied the CBSE (a Central Indian board) curriculum until Grade 10, after which I did the International Baccalaureate at TISB (The International School Bangalore). Being passionate about Biology and Research, I went on to study at Johns Hopkins University in the US, where I utilized my summer vacations to do various research projects at labs around the world. This included a neuropathology project at Imperial College, London; a neurogenetic project at Harvard University; and the development of a new monoclonal antibody at Biocon Ltd in Bangalore, India.
These were all short 2- month internships that help me build my CV as well as get exposure to different research topics and fields. My research was supported by the Woodrow Wilson Scholarship from JHU. Many universities have such scholarships available for students to explore various career paths during their undergraduate years.
I also worked in a developmental biology lab during my final year at Hopkins. All this early research experience helped me understand how academic research works, and also decide which field I would like to do my PhD work in.
My PhD work at Oxford focussed on engineering antibody fragments that could recognize circulating tumour cells in breast cancer. After my Dphil, I was keen on working in the Biotech industry, but also felt a little lost as I wanted to return to my home country India.
I took a gap year to understand the Biotech space in India, while also working with a few NGOs that served the cancer community in India. Working with the Indian Cancer Society also gave me a flavour of working in the healthcare policy making. It was at around this time that I met my husband, Raghav Aggarwal, who had recently started a tech start-up that worked in Artificial Intelligence.
I decided to join him at Fluid AI, as this would give me direct exposure to building a business, and also experience the booming tech industry first hand. On a personal note, it also gave me the flexibility of working from home and having and raising two children.
As Fluid AI grew and expanded, our products and services also evolved. Our flagship product Enterprise GPT is now used by many Fortune 500 companies all around the world. Our customer base has mostly been in the banking and finance industry, but we are also expanding to healthcare, retail and automotive.
My educational background in biotech, helped me approach potential customers, as well as modify and develop our product as per the needs of the healthcare industry.
During my journey, I kept in touch with my classmates and colleagues in academia and industry, helping me create a circle of like-minded people who I would often turn to for advice and to get further introductions. I still have a strong passion for biotech research, and regularly advise biotech start-ups on formal or informal basis.
What motivated you to get into STEM? Did you have a female role model or anyone who inspired you? If so, who?
As a child, I always had an aptitude for science and math. Not only was I academically inclined to these subjects, but I also actively liked to learn about the latest innovations and discoveries. One of my early female role models was the founder of Biocon, Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw. She is a pioneer in the field, and I would regularly read about her in the newspapers. In fact, I have connected with her many times over my career, and she has always been extremely approachable and a great mentor.
What’s your most important professional or academic achievement?
Having a Dphil in Biochemistry – Not only does it give you extreme in-depth technical knowledge in your field of study, but the whole process of getting a PhD really builds perseverance and endurance as your character strengths.
Did you face any challenge throughout your professional/academic journey? How did you overcome it?
I started very early in my academic career, finishing my PhD when I was 24. This was because I was very clear about what I liked and wanted to study. However, having great credentials almost backfired, as there were little to no opportunity in the Indian biotech space for candidates like me. I used this as an opportunity to move to another field and learn about technology and business, which I can now use to serve the healthcare industry.
In your opinion, what needs to be done to attract more women into STEM?
More competitions and platforms which allow young girls to explore, learn and showcase their talent in STEM.
What advice would you give to anyone looking into a career in STEM (or those who do not consider it)?
Start early and keep a very open mind. Don’t be afraid of failing – STEM is all about learning, experimenting, failing, and trying all over again. Try a lot of internships in different fields, so you know what you are good at and what you need to improve upon.
Jayati’s journey is incredible. It shows us how curiosity is a powerful catalyst for a career in STEM. Jayati’s unwavering determination and curiosity paved the way for her successful career in STEM. She tirelessly pursued knowledge, tackled challenges, and embraced every opportunity to learn. Her passion for science and technology powered up her journey, and I’m sure many will take inspiration from her.
Encouraging curiosity from an early age is crucial as it fuels exploration, problem-solving, learning, interdisciplinary connections, and passion. With guidance and mentoring a curious child can indeed turn into a successful STEM professional.
