TY - JOUR
AU - Daher, Susan
AB - When I graduated from University, I had to think long and hard about the career path I wanted to follow. Choosing science as a career has never been the easy option for any student, but as a young woman living in a country where this was not a common choice, my decision-making process was particularly difficult. My inspiration has always been Marie Curie, one of the best examples of women in science. As a Nobel laureate herself and the mother of yet another Nobel laureate, she is a great example to follow! Women often asked her how she could reconcile family life with a scientific career; her answer was “Well, it has not been easy.” But for me as a young student, that answer convinced me to take up science. In short, it may be hard but not impossible. As I read bedtime stories to my children, my mind often wanders off to new experiments that I might do in the lab, the Ph.D. theses that are waiting on my desk, and the research proposals that I have to write. It is hard to achieve the balance of being a good scientist, a good partner, and a good parent at the same time. And today, as men become more involved in raising children, this is a challenge that affects not only female scientists, but also male scientists, who increasingly want to experience a nourishing and productive life outside of work. Once more the oft-quoted Dr. Curie comes to my aid: “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” As a group leader in stem cell biology, I try to look up to those impressive scientists who I call the 21st century counterparts of Dr. Curie. The passion with which the likes of Fiona Watt, Austin Smith, Elisabeth Robertson, George Daley, Shinya Yamanaka, and Janet Rossant take the stage and deliver inspiring oratory (for they are more than mere lectures) never fails to fill me with the same rush of excitement that I felt at my first major scientific meeting. But I still ask myself: How do they do it? Life in the 21st century is demanding enough in itself as I think most of my colleagues will agree, so what is the secret formula needed to help us become world class scientists? What better way to find the answers than to ask some leading scientists themselves? Over the next couple of months we will be inviting leading scientists in the stem cell field to engage with us in frank and open conversations to present their life stories and their fascinating careers in a new editorial section called “Balancing Work and Life: Finding Our Inspirations.” I hope that this series will be particularly helpful to the young doctoral and postdoctoral scientists who are still unsure how best they might be able to contribute to science and society. We are always looking for answers, after all that is what being a scientist is about, but it is always a good thing to have some encouragement from other leaders in our field. My own strong belief is that everything is possible if you are surrounded by coworkers, family members, colleagues, and partners who respect your aspirations and careers as much as their own. I hope that through this editorial series, young scientists will find their own Marie Curie to look up to as I did when her famous saying “I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done” helped me through the tough times. 1 Open in new tabDownload slide Majlinda Lako, Ph.D. Institute of Human Genetics and NESCI, Newcastle University, International Centre for Life. 1 Open in new tabDownload slide Majlinda Lako, Ph.D. Institute of Human Genetics and NESCI, Newcastle University, International Centre for Life. Author notes First published online in STEM CELLS Express February 12, 2009; available online without subscription through the open access option. To Read More from Our Interview with Dr. Lako, to Read About Dr. Lako's Laboratory, and to Join Our Discussion Forums, Visit the STEM CELLS Portal at www.stemcellsportal.com. Copyright © 2009 AlphaMed Press This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)
TI - Balancing Work and Life: Finding Our Inspirations
JO - Stem Cells
DO - 10.1002/stem.40
DA - 2009-04-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/balancing-work-and-life-finding-our-inspirations-UabpDpdRpS
SP - 761
EP - 761
VL - 27
IS - 4
DP - DeepDyve
ER -