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Tell us a little bit about yourself:  I was born and grew up in a small town in northern Italy. After my degree and almost 6 years of experience working in cancer research, I moved to the US 12 years ago with my husband. I worked in academic institutions and a family foundation and I am currently working for a private company. We have two kids who are 10 and 7 years old. What was supposed to be a few years’ experience turned into our life and we are now settled in NY. "We all want to excel, we want to shine and have a bright career but that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our personal life to it." In your opinion, what is the best way to maintain work-life balance? Set boundaries. Especially now during the pandemic when we are all working from home it is important to set limits. We all want to excel, we want to shine and have a bright career but that doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our personal life to it. It is important to learn when it is time to stop and dedicate time to a hobby, to our family, to our friends. It seems obvious and straightforward, but it is not especially if you feel the pressure of your colleagues working long hours. Our value will be recognized even if we do not work 24/7 and if the workplace is not recognizing it, then it is time for a new adventure. "Mentors and colleagues who value our expertise and skills will not ask us to choose." What are your thoughts on the pressure that women face in having to make a choice between starting a family and progressing their career? In my life, I was always very lucky, and I was never put in the positions of having to choose. All my mentors and supervisors were extremely supportive, but I can see how starting a family could be a challenge for women not as lucky as I was. I think there is not a solution to that. Women will always face a bumpier path, but I do believe that if we keep believing in our dreams, we will eventually find people around us who will believe in us and support us in our growth. Mentors and colleagues who value our expertise and skills will not ask us to choose. Finding that environment will not be easy, but we should not give up our dreams of starting a family, but rather we should focus on finding that workplace where we are valued even more because we have a family. And I can say these places totally exist. "You need to focus on what makes you happy, keeps you excited and curious." What advice would you give yourself if you were starting your career today? What would you say to encourage other women to persevere in their career path? Follow your dreams, do what you like, do not be discouraged by difficulties and seize the opportunities. You will never find the perfect job, but you need to focus on what makes you happy, keeps you excited and curious. No matter what your job is, it takes a lot of your time and you do not want to be bored or struggle because you do not like it.
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Tell us a little bit about yourself:  My profound and life-long interest in evolutionary biology has been the driving force that has pushed me to become a researcher in this field. After earning a master’s degree in Biology at University Paris Sud-XI and a Ph.D. in Genetics at the University of Cologne in Germany, I completed postdocs in both France and the United States. During my postdocs, I worked on the genetic basis of adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants and had the opportunity to analyze next-generation sequencing data with various genomics tools. Then, I decided to become a bioinformatician and earned a diploma in Bioinformatics at Paris Diderot. I now combine in-depth computer skills and extensive experience in evolutionary biology to serve the mission of Biotia as a bioinformatician. Biotia, located in NYC, is a health tech company using DNA sequencing technologies and Artificial Intelligence to fight hospital-acquired infections. "It took me years to recognise myself as an independent scientist with strong skills." Did you ever feel treated unfairly at work because of your gender and how did you deal with that? I haven’t really felt that I have been treated unfairly at work because of my gender; nevertheless, I would like to mention a habit that I have always had, which is systematically underestimating myself. It is probably a societal phenomenon due to culture, education and the low number of female scientific models. Along these lines, I have long felt the pressure to do an excellent job to prove that I am a legitimate scientist. It took me years to recognise myself as an independent scientist with strong skills. Today, though, I would still feel too shy to negotiate a pay increase. I have always thought that computer science and coding would be too difficult for me and I used to avoid them, but later I realised I really like both, and today, as I have stated, I have become a bioinformatician. I have been able to overcome my earlier fear, and I am planning to overcome all my fears and stop being my own enemy. "I would like to highlight the importance of saying “No” and recognizing and establishing your limits." In your opinion, what is the best way to maintain work-life balance? Here, I would like to highlight the importance of saying “No” and recognizing and establishing your limits. If your supervisor or colleagues ask you to complete something by a specific date, but according to you it will be impossible to finish the project in that amount of time, without working 12 hours per day and over weekends, then I recommend explaining precisely why the project requires additional time. Your clear arguments will enable your supervisor and co-workers to accept more easily having to postpone the deadline, when possible. And at the same time, you will show that you are on top of your project(s) and that you have the ability to organise and anticipate all the steps to reach your goals. I also personally preserve my weekends and my lunch time (at least 30 minutes) except if there is really an emergency. Finally, my health is my priority; I take the time to exercise several times per week, and that is non-negotiable. "It is not mandatory to follow the classical academic career from Ph.D. to professorship." What advice would you give yourself if you were starting your career today? What would you say to encourage other women to persevere in their career path? My first advice is very practical. I recommend that you work on research projects of public interest that can be easily funded. It is then very important to develop excellent skills in writing grants and scientific articles and to work in a country and a laboratory where you can do your research in the best conditions.
Second, I advise you to be very active on professional/social networks to optimize your visibility within the scientific community. Networking skills are very helpful to finding suitable job offers, recruiting people, facilitating useful collaborations. Finally, I would like to remind you that it is not mandatory to follow the classical academic career from Ph.D. to professorship. For example, I am working in a health tech start-up whose mission matches my values; I feel really useful, and it makes me proud of being a scientist. Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  I moved to the US with my pets in 2012 and joined Dr Ron Duman’s lab at Yale University as a post-doc fellow. There, I quickly became interested in rapid-acting antidepressants and other topics that were new to me. In summer 2015, I started to look for jobs and thought I would need to go back to France since I was on a J-1 visa here. I wanted to work outside academia. By chance, at that time there was a job opening at a biopharmaceutical company that fitted with my skills. Long story short: I applied even though I was not feeling ready and it worked out: the company even sponsored my visa and later on my green card. "The best ways to maintain work-life balance is to have clear boundaries while remaining flexible and willing to help our colleagues" In your opinion, what is the best way to maintain work-life balance? During the PhD and post-doc, it is expected to work long hours, even on weekends. I would say that work-life balance is more reachable at a later stage, beyond the post-doc. And one of the best ways to maintain it is to have clear boundaries while remaining flexible and willing to help our colleagues. "Having nice colleagues with good team spirit makes a huge difference at the end of the day." What are the things that keep you motivated in your everyday life? Do you have any daily ritual that helps you stay consistently motivated and balanced? Having nice colleagues with good team spirit is very important and motivates to come to work. That makes a huge difference at the end of the day. I am otherwise always looking for improvement in all sorts of areas, buying new books, watching inspiring shows or documentaries. During the pandemic, we all had to rethink our schedule. I stopped exercising for a while and I realized I’d better move more if I want to feel well. "Find an activity that helps you reset on a daily basis." What advice would you give yourself if you were starting your career today? What would you say to encourage other women to persevere in their career path? I wish I had learnt transcendental meditation earlier as it has been making a difference compared with other meditations I had tried. Meditating regularly helps me remain grounded. I get a clearer mind and am able to focus better, which helps during experiments. I would encourage anybody to find an activity that helps them reset on a daily basis. It can be activity-based like running, yoga, or more art-focused… but TV does not qualify!
Please tell us a little bit about yourself:  I am Dr. Triparna Sen, PhD, an Assistant Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. I am a translational cancer researcher and the ultimate goal of my research is to translate new mechanism-driven insights of cancer biology into bringing novel therapies to the clinic for cancer patients. I identified DNA damage response (DDR) proteins as therapeutic targets for small cell lung cancer (SCLC), the most aggressive form of lung cancer. I was the first to demonstrate that targeting DDR promotes antitumor immunity in SCLC. My work has supported multiple clinical trials and shaped novel therapeutic strategies for SCLC. My biggest personal goal, however, remains to inspire and help launch young scientists on independent careers. I continue to foster the next generation of scientific leaders. I have served as the two-time President of the Association for Women in Science-Gulf Coast Houston Chapter and currently serve on the leadership team of 500WomenScientist NYCPod. "My biggest personal goal remains to inspire and help launch young scientists on independent careers." What do you think the roadblocks are to representation of women in science? How can we improve women’s visibility in science? In my opinion the following are the roadblocks to representation of women in science:
"Seek mentors very early on in your career." What are the things that keep you motivated in your everyday life? Do you have any daily ritual that helps you stay consistently motivated and balanced?
"Resilience is the most valuable trait you can have." What advice would you give yourself if you were starting your career today? Seek mentors very early on in your career. I understood the value of mentorship later than I should have and then my fear of “asking for help” delayed the process of seeking mentors. Mentors are crucial for your career. The right mentor will guide you to seize opportunities, open doors for you, will be a sounding board as your make difficult career choices, will champion for you. So find a good mentor and really nurture the relationship. "Do not let setbacks define you." What would you say to encourage other women to persevere in their career path? Everyone I know has encountered setbacks and I certainly have faced many in my career path. So I would say, resilience is the most valuable trait you can have. Expect setbacks and delays in your career, use these experiences as a chance to learn and grow. Please, do not let setbacks define you. Finally, never tie your sense of self-worth to your job or your professional rejections!
By Jyoti Panta (edited by Tessa Barrett)
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