It's About Who You Know ... - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences
Abstract
With eight minority professors and 15 women among 40 scientists, the Center for Study of Gene Structure & Function at Hunter College of the City University of New York is among the most diverse in the sciences. A key tool in center director Robert Dottin's recruiting efforts is the network for minority scientists known as JustGarciaHill. Such networks can prove crucial to helping minorities and women in the sciences. "They're really important for scientists of color. It's a broad generalization, but traditionally we come into science with a smaller network than average. You need networks to advance your career. It's all about who you know, how you can write a grant, who you can make a phone call to for help," says Alissa Myrick, board member of Brothers Building Diversity in the Sciences. Conversations that Dave Vigerust of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis has had with senior members of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) "have been really enlightening on what you usually have to do to get to a number of career points: how you become independent, how you become successful in writing grants, how you manage a lab.