Words of Wisdom from Women in STEM
It’s the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11th February, and we’re proud to celebrate the work of female scientists all around the globe. Through our blog we strive to give a voice to female scientists, a minority who remain underrepresented in all fields of STEM and who frequently face discrimination throughout their science careers.
We’ve interviewed numerous women for our popular Interviews with Scientists feature who have not only shared their experiences openly and honestly, but have offered advice and support to others too.
We’ve picked out some of our favourite words of wisdom from previous interviewees and guest bloggers who are achieving great things in life science, and are leading the way as role models for other women in STEM.
Enitome Bafor
Dr Enitome Bafor is a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). She is currently leading a research project on autoimmune reproductive failure, and was the winner of our Lab Heroes Awards 2018. In our most recent interview with Enitome, she told us about the importance of mental strength, building resilience, and her experiences of mentoring young women in STEM.
Read the full interview with Dr Enitome Bafor here: https://hellobio.com/blog/interviews-with-scientists-dr-enitome-bafor.html
Frances Separovic
Professor Frances Separovic is a Biophysical Chemist and Professor of Chemistry based at the Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research focus is primarily solid-state NMR and membrane biophysics. She was the first female chemist elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2012, was recognised as a IUPAC Distinguished Woman of Chemistry in 2017, and was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2018. When we spoke to Frances in 2019, she talked openly about her return to studying after becoming a mother, her thoughts on diversity in STEM, and the female role models who have inspired her throughout her career.
Read the full interview with Professor Frances Separovic here: https://hellobio.com/blog/interviews-with-scientists-professor-frances-separovic.html
Rachelle Balez
Rachelle Balez is a PhD candidate at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute in Australia, whose research focuses on treatment options for Alzheimer's disease. In 2018, she was selected to participate in the ground-breaking Homeward Bound leadership initiative, a project which aims to heighten the influence and impact of women in making decisions that shape our planet. In our 2018 interview with Rachelle, she told us more about the project, as well as sharing her thoughts on empowerment for women, and the importance of female leadership roles in STEM.
Read the full interview with Rachelle Balez here: https://hellobio.com/blog/interviews-with-scientists-rachelle-balez.html
Noelia D Falcon
Dr Noelia D Falcon is a senior research associate at the School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, UK. She is also the creator and host of the ‘I Belong Here’ podcast which aims to showcase and share the stories of women in STEM from all around the world. Last year we spoke to Noelia for our Podcasts By Scientists series to find out how the podcast came about, and why representation for women in STEM is so important.
Read the full interview with Noelia D Falcon here: https://hellobio.com/blog/podcasts-by-scientists-i-belong-here.html
Adviti Naik
Adviti Naik is a Postdoctoral Researcher in cancer biology at the Qatar Biomedical Research Institute in Qatar. She specialises in breast cancer research, and was commended by our judges in the Lab Heroes Awards 2020 for her passion and dedication to her work. In her interview with us in 2021, she told us that contributing towards improving the lives of women is one of her primary motivations, and that having female role models is vital for any woman working in STEM.
Read the full interview with Adviti Naik here: https://hellobio.com/blog/interviews-with-scientists-adviti-naik.html
Jazmine I. Benjamin
Jazmine I. Benjamin is a Biomedical Sciences PhD candidate in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama, USA. She is a passionate science communicator and a staunch advocate for representation in STEM. We spoke to Jazmine just a few months ago for our Interviews with Scientists series, and she spoke passionately about the importance of retaining and supporting women and people of colour in STEM roles.
Read the full interview with Jazmine I Benjamin here: https://hellobio.com/blog/interviews-with-scientists-jazmine-i-benjamin.html
Mackenzie Lemieux
Mackenzie Lemieux is a research technician in the Tye Lab at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She is the founder of SAID in STEM (Students Advocating for Increased Diversity in STEM), a seminar series promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion in science. In 2019 she became involved with a ‘Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon’ project which aimed to raise awareness of gender imbalance online and to help recognise women’s contributions to STEM. In 2020 she co-wrote a blog article for us with Rebecca Zhang, explaining the importance of the project in more detail.
Read the full article by Mackenzie Lemieux and Rebecca Zhang here: https://hellobio.com/blog/promoting-diversity-in-stem-online.html
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"Hey! What about..."
Tell us about the ones we’ve missed! Who are your female role models in STEM? Which words of wisdom from women do you carry with you in your science career? Tell us in the comments or tweet us at @hello_bio!
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