This article from APU.edu released a year ago but it captures some of my passion for Science and Music.
Cristian Aguilar, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry, discovered his passion for biology at a young age. As a child, Aguilar would research organisms and animals, how they functioned, and the environments where they lived. He was taken by the curiosities of sea creatures and marine life, aspiring to one day become a marine biologist. Yet, just a few years later, Aguilar fell in love with another subject – music.
“I come from a very musical family. I followed in my older brother’s footsteps when I started playing saxophone in fifth grade,” Aguilar said. “I played all the way through junior high. Once I got to high school, I joined marching band and began learning different instruments. Twice a year, I would pick up a new instrument. I would usually try to play whatever part the band was missing.”
After high school, Aguilar decided to pursue his first love – science. He attended Cal Poly Pomona for undergrad, getting his degree in biotechnology. Then he went on to grad school at UC Irvine, obtaining his Ph.D. in developmental and cell biology. It was here that Aguilar began his research on regeneration by studying the axolotl, a Mexican salamander.