Growing up in India, Mamta Suri dreamed of a life in science as a doctor. After moving to America at the age of 15, she put that plan in action at the University of California at Santa Cruz studying Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. She took courses in computer science because she thought they sounded interesting. Because she enjoyed the classes so much, she worked with her councilor to find a way to double major. At the time, there were no majors that combined both. She was able to find a way to work in both departments to enhance her studies. While at UCSC she even worked on mapping DNA with the human genome.