In celebration of International Day for Women and Girls in Science, we spoke with the co-chair of the Baker Institute’s Early Career Scientists Committee, , about her career pathway and advice for others.
Dr George is a postdoctoral researcher in our Metabolomics Lab, where she studies human milk lipids and their protective role in obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.
What inspired you to pursue a career in science?
TV shows like CSI and NCIS were definitely a contributing factor! As a child I loved to watch them and the idea of experimenting and investigating and answering questions in a lab wearing a long white coat seemed like the coolest job ever.
Once I was old enough to seriously think about science, there were lots of things in my environment that inspired me to pursue science specifically in human health and disease, such as witnessing large health inequalities and healthcare gaps, family and friends being unwell, and being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in high school.
I adore my job and really am living out my childhood dream! I love that my research can change people’s lives and health for the better.
What advice do you have for girls considering a career in science?
There are so many different job types, focus areas, and possibilities for you in science. If you can imagine something that you want an answer to, or something you think is interesting, a career probably exists for it. So go for it!
To help guide you to identify what kind of science you like, there are so many scientists who are always happy to give you advice and listen to your interests and discuss ideas with you. Mentors can be really beneficial. To explore different science fields, you can join science programs that are organised by , , and other clubs like ; sign up to ; or reach out to scientists through social media, your school, or through .
What has been your proudest moment as a scientist?
I have many proud moments as a scientist, but my proudest was being awarded my first ever big research grant. I won international funding to travel to Singapore and work at the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ University of Singapore as a Visiting Scientist for about three months. I am very proud of what I achieved there, in both my own research and personally, and what came out of it: a great collaboration, publication, and invitations to present my work at conferences.
What does a regular workday look like for you?
My regular workday starts with, and involves far too much, coffee. Other than coffee, no two workdays are the same, which makes this such a stimulating job! Right now, my days are usually spent in front of screens, combing through exciting data, writing up results and planning lab experiments, with emails and more coffee sprinkled throughout.
What is the best thing and the most challenging thing about being an early career researcher?
We could talk about challenges that early career researchers face for days, but one thing that is important right now is to ensure early career scientists don’t get left behind. The COVID-19 pandemic has added bumps to everyone’s science road, but early career scientists are in some of the most vulnerable positions, without extensive track records yet to leverage off.
Despite this, there are lots of great things about being an early career scientist! As a collective, we are in a great position to propose innovative and unique ideas, to communicate our science and collaborate in new ways, and to challenge the status quo.
