Born a Palestinian refugee, Mohamad Abedi didn’t have the luxury of exploring science as a kid. But at 17, when he unexpectedly immigrated to the United States, he discovered that learning could be a creative and transformative process. This led him to pursue degrees in biomedical engineering and eventually to his current research on cellular communication and drug development as a postdoctoral scholar in the lab. In this episode, Mohamad shares his perspective on what it means to be a good scientist and how he found his way into science without it ever being one of his childhood dreams. Through his story, we explore how struggles — both inside and outside of science — can shape a journey and spark creativity in unexpected ways. // This podcast was produced by the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington School of Medicine. // Music by Kevin MacLeod.