ASU chemistry grad turns persistence into purpose
Samir Saifi is graduating from ASU's School of Molecular Sciences with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He was also named the school’s Distinguished Chemistry Merit Award recipient — an honor given to a graduating senior with an outstanding academic record in chemistry. Photo courtesy of Samir Saifi
Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable spring 2025 graduates.
Samir Saifi doesn’t give up easily.
During a research project that kept hitting dead ends, he kept showing up to the lab. When the path he thought he wanted — a career in medicine — no longer felt right, he had the courage to pivot. And when chemistry, a subject he once hated, began to make sense in college, he leaned in.
“I realized I enjoyed the chemistry side of my classes way more than biology,” Saifi said. “That’s when I knew this is what I wanted to build a career in.”
Since making that decision, Saifi has thrived.
This spring, he’s graduating summa cum laude from Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He was also named the school’s Distinguished Chemistry Merit Award recipient — an honor given to a graduating senior with an outstanding academic record in chemistry.
According to School of Molecular Sciences Associate Professor Scott Sayres, who mentored Saifi in his lab, it was his “relentless attitude” that makes him stand out the most.
“He just didn’t give up,” Sayres said at a recent ASU award ceremony. “Even when we thought a project wasn’t going anywhere, Samir kept coming back to it. That determination eventually led to us submitting a new academic paper.”
We spoke with Saifi to learn more about his journey, what he’s learned along the way, and what’s next.
Question: What was your “aha” moment when you realized you wanted to study the field you majored in?
Answer: My “aha” moment was during organic chemistry in my second year of undergrad. I was originally a biochemistry major and wanted to go to medical school, but I realized I had a passion for chemistry. I finished up general chemistry, transitioning into organic chemistry, and realized I enjoyed chemistry classes a lot more than biology ones and that this is what I wanted a career in.
Q: What's something you've learned at ASU that surprised you or changed your perspective?
A: Doing research at ASU made me realize what research and a career in chemistry is all about. I realized that you won't always get great successes on your first attempt, and you might not get them on your second, third or fourth try, but each attempt, you learn something new, and you get better at it over time. That's what doing research at ASU helped me understand: You'll succeed in anything if you give it enough effort and with enough time.
Q: Why did you choose ASU?
A: I graduated high school when I was 15 and wanted to stay close to home, but I heard in high school that ASU was No. 1 in innovation and other achievements that ASU had. I was excited to be a part of it all.
Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?
A: It was definitely Scott Sayres. I'm currently doing research in his lab, and he helped me understand that failure wasn't a bad thing. I worked on a project for two or three years, and success felt like it was at the bottom of the haystack, but I just kept being persistent, thinking that maybe this project wasn't a failure. Maybe we can find new information from it. I kept bringing it back to him week after week. There were a lot of ups and downs, but after a year or so, we finally looked at it again and found something, and we started solving it. After enough time, we got information that was helpful, wrote a research paper and submitted it.
So, failure is not a bad thing. It definitely didn't feel like that at the moment, but looking back, I do feel that I learned a lot, and it taught me a lot, not just about chemistry, but about being persistent in research and that not everything's a winner in the beginning.
Q: What's the best piece of advice you'd give to those still in school?
A: Don't feel pressured by other students to make a career choice. You may decide halfway through a degree that you won't enjoy it long term and that you might want to switch, and that’s OK.
Q: What's your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying or meeting friends or thinking about life?
A: Definitely ISTB4 on the third floor. It’s my secret spot; I didn't tell anyone. No one’s ever there, and the chairs are so comfortable. At one point I researched who manufactured the chairs and I called the company to try and get one for myself, but they are $1,500 a chair. I'm not paying that (laughing). It was a great environment. It was so quiet. There's a bunch of research labs all around you; it's really nice.
Q: What are your plans after graduation?
A: I accepted a job offer at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute as a research technician helping patients with brain cancer.
Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?
A: I would spend the $40 million to help develop low-cost instrumentation for schools like Vernier. Vernier is a company that creates simple instrumentation for students in high school and college. I would create something similar to help students in low-income areas get to feel what science is really about.
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