Two Inspiring Women Scientists: Iniciativa Proxima Continues Helping Brazilian Students to Explore Career Options
Iniciativa Proxima, an organization launched in 2020 with the support of Yale University, gives young Brazilian students the opportunity to become leaders in the field of biomedical sciences. Founded and directed by Marcelo Dietrich, Associate Professor at the Yale School of Medicine, it aims to connect talented young Brazilian scientists with outstanding researchers from around the world.
Through a mentoring program that lasts for ten months, the young scientists who become scholars acquire skills and make valuable connections that will serve them for the rest of their professional lives.
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The past two months were full of exciting and inspiring events for the Iniciativa Proxima scholars and mentees. They got to hear about stories of success in both non-academic and academic careers from leading scientists like Dr. Sri Narasimhan, the deputy editor of Cell, one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the world, and Dr. Cori Bargmann, a trailblazing neurobiologist working on genetic and neural circuit mechanisms.
Dr. Narasimhan shared the “secret” that helped her make the decisions that have shaped her academic and professional life: “Having fun.”
On August 17th, Brazilian students part of Iniciativa Proxima participated in a conversation with Dr. Sri Narasimhan, who shared the impressive journey that took her to follow a non-academic or “scientific-peripheral” career path. This workshop was especially inspiring for the young researchers, who are at a stage in which they may still wonder whether they should follow a research career or an alternative paths. In a lighthearted and honest conversation, Dr. Sri Narasimhan told the beginnings of her passion for science –especially infectious disease– and her experiences as an undergraduate and graduate student and as a postdoc.
Dr. Narasimhan emphasized the importance of being open to possibilities and listening to oneself. aAlthough she had initially planned to study HIV in graduate school, she ended up doing research on molecular genetics of aging using the worm C. elegans and doing postdoc work on the metabolism and early stages of the worm’s microbiome: “I meandered a lot in terms of what is the right area for me; and I think that when you have so much fun doing science, the field doesn’t matter that much […] Science is so fluid and interdisciplinary that you will be able to find interesting things to do, even if you have your heart set on something initially,” she shared.
Dr. Narasimhan then transitioned onto highlighting the importance of representation and knowledge exchange in the professional field and shared how this helped her discover the field of scientific editing. During her postdoc at Harvard, she attended several career seminars, events in which people doing all sorts of careers related to science would share their experiences with the attendees. It was precisely during one of these events that she heard about the role of scientific editor and about the Cell journal specifically, quickly realizing that that job embodied what she had always loved to do: thinking about science and hearing about other people’s science. As such, she went after this dream and started working at Cell. At this point, Dr. Narasimhan shared the “secret” that helped her make the decisions that have shaped her academic and professional life: “Having fun. That was a common trend for me: in picking my PhD lab, in being excited about things. And here too [referring to her work at Cell], this was also on a whim […] And now I have been at Cell for more than ten years and clearly I’m still having fun.”
Dr. Bargmann (third standing) in 2017 at Yale University. President Salovey granted her, and other seven outstanding professionals in their fields, an honorary degree. Source here.
Opportunities for inspiration for the Iniciativa Proxima mentees did not end with Dr. Narashimphan’s talk. On September 14th, these young Brazilian researchers learned about the scientific career of Dr. Cori Bargmann, one of the leading neurobiologists in the world, known for her work on genetic and neural circuit mechanisms of behavior using the worm C. elegans. The workshop —which had over 50 attendees— took the form of an informal interview, in which some Iniciativa Proxima scholars asked Dr. Bargmann about the ways in which her early experiences motivated her to become a scientist, the beginnings of her career, and her current work.
Like in the workshop led by Dr. Narasimhan, a salient theme in Dr. Bargmann’s workshop was the importance of mentoring, representation, and role models. Moreover, she emphasized how essential it is for the progress of science to go out of one’s comfort zone, being humble, and having a diverse team of researchers. Lastly, Dr. Bargmann talked about the importance of being patient when doing science: “I hardly ever had experiences where I suddenly understood something all at once […] You have to be very patient in science. You have to be willing to just keep on working on a problem.” At the end of the interview, Dr. Cori Bargmann talked a bit about her current work, the obstacles women face in science, and also offered some advice for the young researchers. Following this part of the discussion, the Iniciativa Proxima scholars moderating the interview ended the workshop by thanking Dr. Bargmann for the fascinating conversation, inspiration, and advice she shared with the attendees.
Find more information about Iniciativa Proxima and its fantastic opportunities here:
By Leda Blaires Ciotti, Student Program Assistant, leda.blairesciotti@yale.edu