Women in Science and Medicine
February 11 is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science and Joslin is proud to recognize all of the women who work in science and medicine at Joslin. At this moment, there are 211 women at Joslin (out of approximately 500 total employees) who work directly in science and/or medicine jobs—from Study Coordinators, Research Assistants and Principle Investigators to Exercise Physiologists, Nurses, Registered Dietitians and Physicians to Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and Ophthalmic Technicians.
We asked a few of them to share what made them choose science and/or medicine as a profession and how they would encourage girls or young women to enter the fields of science and medicine.
Here are their responses:
Cristina Aguayo-Mazzucato, PhD, MD
Assistant Investigator
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
I always thought that Medicine combined my passion for understanding things and my belief in helping others and making the world a better place. In Science, I found a freedom of thought that was unparalleled and thrilling.
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
Anything is possible if you like it and are willing to work for it. Medicine and Science are a great way to understand yourselves and the world you live in, they are extremely fulfilling professions that never get boring.
Susan Bonner-Weir, PhD
Senior Investigator
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
I always was interested in the plants and animals around me, so becoming a biologist made sense. It is amazing that trying to understand how they function and grow, which is actually solving puzzles, is a paying job.
Elizabeth Halprin, MD
Staff Physician Section Chief
Why did you (or what prompted you) to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
When I was a young girl, I was kept in the dark as someone very close to me died. I wanted to do a better job for those patients and families who didn’t understand what was going on around them. I wanted to be the one to explain things to people so they would understand.
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
We need more women in medicine, not only because we’re smart enough and hardworking enough, but we’re also more empathetic and holistic in our approach. The more women that are in medicine, the more friendly the profession will be to those who are not only asked to care for patients at work but often the family at home as well. It is a constantly gratifying profession.
Tara Kaushal
Staff Physician, Pediatrics
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
I am fortunate to have a number of female physician and scientist role models, including my own mother who is a PhD in Physics and works as a computer engineer. When I realized my passion for medicine and clinical research, there was no question that I would be able to achieve my goals as many before me had.
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
It is an incredible honor to live in an age when women are encouraged to pursue careers in science and medicine. If it is something you want to do, we are all here to support you!
Mary Loeken
Investigator
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
It was when I was in high school that I recognized that there is a lot of suffering, by patients and their families, during serious or fatal diseases. I felt that devising better treatments or prevention required a better understanding of how living systems function, and what happens when things go wrong. I was a good student in science and math, so I thought I might be able to make contributions to alleviating the suffering of human disease by becoming a basic biomedical research scientist (although, that was not a term in my vocabulary at the time!).
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
Science and math provide the foundation of knowledge and tools to perform research, but proficiency in science and math are not enough to advance important biomedical knowledge. One needs to think creatively and critically about how to experimentally answer biomedical questions and to discuss and collaborate with other creative and critical thinkers. It can be really exciting to finish an experiment and find an answer to a scientific question that had not been answered, but one must realize that it takes many small steps of experimental findings put together before major leaps in disease understanding or treatments occur.
Medha Munshi, MD
Staff Physician Director,
Geriatric Diabetes Program
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
My mom- she is a physician and enjoyed her profession along with her life in general.
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
I would say that whether it is science, medicine, or any other profession, do what you enjoy and identify YOUR priorities in life. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone except to yourself that you are doing the best you can and make sure you enjoy it. That would help when balancing personal and professional responsibilities.
Sylvia Rosas, MD, MSCE
Investigator and Staff Physician
Director, Latino Kidney Clinic
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
I was always curious about the world around me as a child. As I grew up, it was important for me to work towards improving access to health care for everyone.
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
Medicine is the most rewarding and exciting profession. There are constant new discoveries, and you are always helping others regardless of your specific specialty.
Mary-Elizabeth Patti
Investigator and Staff Physician
Director, Hypoglycemia Clinic
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
As a young girl, my family had a one-volume encyclopedia that contained plastic plates showing organ systems of the human body. When you turned each page a new system would be revealed e.g. muscles, then bones and internal organs, etc. I was really interested in the complexities of this and announced to my family that I wanted to be an anatomy professor. (I’m not sure I really knew what that was at the time…) A few years later, I changed my mind and said I wanted to be a pediatrician, just like my own doctor. I think both of these initial goals were rooted in curiosity about how the human body functioned and the living world in general, which inspired my passion for science, nature, and human health. Over time, I realized I really enjoyed the complexity of adult medicine and forging long-term relationships with patients. The ability to combine patient care with science in an academic setting was a real eye-opening discovery for me and led me to pursue a career as a physician-scientist focused on diabetes and metabolism. I feel so fortunate!
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
You can make your dreams come true in medicine or science by perseverance, finding good mentors to give you advice along the way, not letting others discourage you, and getting experience to solidify your plans. Most importantly, choose what makes you happy, whatever that is!
Deborah Schlossman, MD
Ophthalmologist
Why did you (or what prompted you) to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
When I was in elementary school, I read a book about a girl who was blind, and people were trying to explain to her what colors looked like. It was the first time I had thought about what it might be like not be able to see, and I decided then that I wanted to be an eye doc. I am also a painter and love the connection between visual perception and painting…. the way little patches of color placed next to one another are perceived as a person or object by the brain when viewed from a distance.
Elena Toschi, MD
Research Associate
Staff Physician
Director, Young Adult Program
Why did you pursue science or medicine as a profession?
I wanted to improve and support persons' health and wellbeing throughout their life’s journey.
What would you tell girls or young women to encourage them to pursue science or medicine as a profession?
Follow your dreams, you will find a way to realize them.
About Joslin Diabetes Center
Joslin Diabetes Center is world-renowned for its deep expertise in diabetes treatment and research. Part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, Joslin is dedicated to finding a cure for diabetes and ensuring that people with diabetes live long, healthy lives. We develop and disseminate innovative patient therapies and scientific discoveries throughout the world. Joslin is affiliated with Harvard Medical School and one of only 18 NIH-designated Diabetes Research Centers in the United States.
