In 2015, the UN General Assembly declared February 11 to be the International Day of Women and Girls in Science after noticing that women earned degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at half the rate of men. This commemorative day celebrates the role that women already play in science, promotes the idea of STEM careers to the next generation of women, and encourages the mentoring of women and girls in school and the workplace to pursue scientific and technical interests. Seven NYGC staff members share how they became interested in STEM and what were their biggest challenges, as well as who were their greatest inspirations, in forging a career in science.
Demetra Catalano
Research Associate, CGND
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I’m a Research Associate in Dr. Hemali Phatnani’s lab, the Center for Genomics of Neurodegenerative Disease (CGND). In my current role, I support the ALS Consortium, a multidisciplinary effort to discover genetic mutations underlying ALS and understand how they cause disease. I coordinate ALS Consortium sample processing and clinical metadata harmonization.
What got you interested in STEM?
I became interested in life sciences at a young age, after seeing the impact that health issues had on my brother. I was set on a career in nursing until I had the opportunity to join a virology lab early in my college career. The Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Laurie Krug, made a conscious effort to include and support young women in her lab. I was given autonomy in my research project, which really solidified my interest in STEM and drew me towards a career in biology research. I owe my interest in STEM to my early engagement in research.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
I was fortunate in college to be a part of programs that supported underrepresented students in STEM. Organizations at Stony Brook University — specifically, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), and the Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) — fostered my growth in my research career. Being a part of these communities allowed me to understand and overcome barriers facing me as a woman from a low-income background in science.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
I’m inspired by the individuals and programs that strive to support underrepresented students in STEM. Mentors and programs like these have allowed me and many others to discover and pursue careers in STEM. I am proud to be a part of a lab that welcomes undergraduate and high school students. I’m also inspired by the female scientists who broke barriers to make science more accessible to women. Supporting women throughout their careers is essential in creating a more inclusive and diverse scientific community.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
Seek out strong female mentors and role models in your career. Make and maintain connections with your mentors and peers. A strong support system is essential in your career, especially if you are a woman in science.
Delphine Fagegaltier, PhD
Staff Scientist, Functional Genomics Lead, CGND
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
As a biologist and computational scientist dedicated to developing genomic approaches to the study of a devastating neurodegenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), my research centers around a collaborative initiative that has built the largest genomic dataset in the United States drawn from ALS donors. What we can learn about the disease to fill the pressing knowledge gaps and identify biomarkers and actionable targets in ALS are questions that fuel my days and code for data analyses.
What got you interested in STEM?
A curiosity for how living things work.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
I wanted to explore genetics and the world after my PhD work in France. I landed a postdoctoral position at Stanford. As with many internationally mobile scientists, this meant building stronger English skills as well as switching fields, countries, and cultures.
Embracing new approaches is part of being a scientist. Finding a good scientific match or securing that funding to do the work can be challenging. Working while on a visa adds pressure. Starting all over again is often risky in your career and demands hard work, but it pays off: the diverse knowledge and skills I gained have been very valuable in enabling me to move forward in my career.
Biological and clinical research in model organisms such as Drosophila was perhaps more gender balanced in comparison to the more recent field of genomics, although this is changing. For a woman, it often takes more effort to be heard when many of the central leaders are men. It took many women, some of whom were featured in the recent documentary Picture a Scientist, to raise public awareness on gender disparities in science.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
The many who revolutionized the lives of their contemporaries, especially women. I have had some excellent mentors and met inspiring scientists, women and men, at all stages of their careers who excelled at stepping up in difficult situations and identifying opportunities to help the next person. With the Human Genome Project nearing completion, the early 2000s was an incredibly exciting time to be in science in general, and biology in particular. Now, 20 years later, sequencing and assembling the SARS-CoV-2 genome only took a few days. I find this fascinating.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
When it comes to women in science, the power of mentorship and giving a leg up to the next generation is invaluable. We all need people with whom to discuss difficult decisions; we all need mentors, never stop using them! Science can be a challenging and rewarding career. If you like to think critically and want to learn continuously, science is for you.
Catherine Heywood
Application Scientist, SeqOps Lab
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I am an Application Scientist/Automation Engineer on the Production Lab’s Automation Engineering Team. As an application scientist, my main role is to help the Production Team meet their evolving needs for new protocols. This includes developing, optimizing, and implementing automated assays to increase throughput and efficiencies in the laboratories. In addition, I help to troubleshoot hardware and software-related lab issues to make sure that everything runs smoothly and efficiently. I am also one of the four co-leaders of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Group (DE&I AG), where I work with a great team to help create a more equitable working environment at NYGC.
What got you interested in STEM?
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been surrounded by STEM. Both of my parents are academics — my mom is a psychologist, and my dad is a mathematician/physicist. As I grew up, my parents would help me make putty using glue and grow pea shoots on our windowsill. I was always encouraged to ask questions and to learn. My interest in STEM really took off when my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer. I wanted to know why and what science could do to save him. While he eventually passed away, my drive to continue learning about STEM has only grown since then.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
One of the biggest challenges that I have faced, especially as an automation engineer, has been being a person of color, a woman, and at times, the youngest person in the room. Sometimes it feels like being just one of those things is difficult enough, but at times identifying as all three has been a challenge. Often, I have to fight a little bit harder for my voice to be heard. At times, this can feel exhausting and defeating. However, I have learned to use those things to my advantage. I have found allies who have lifted me up and inspired me to work harder. I have met with others who are in the same boat to learn how they have been able to shine in their own spaces. It has really motivated me to be that light/guide for others — to make sure that everyone has a seat at the table and feels comfortable being exactly who they are.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
My mom is one of the kindest and hardest working people that I know. My parents separated when I was fairly little, and somehow, my mother managed to get a PhD in psychology, start and finish a postdoctoral fellowship, and become tenured faculty (in addition to a litany of other degrees and certifications). She put me through school all on her own and made sure that I always had what I needed. She always valued education above all else, both for me and her students. She is constantly advocating on behalf of others in her field, whether it’s her PhD candidates, speaking out for underrepresented and underserved groups at the UN or the American Psychological Association, or helping those in her community via her church and local civic organizations. Last year she co-authored a book about psychology and human rights. Her drive and confidence in me have helped me get to where I am today.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
The best piece of advice I have to offer is always go for it, that the worst thing someone can say to you is no. You never know what can happen. Prior to becoming an application scientist, I was very shy and found it difficult to advocate for myself or others. I always wanted to disappear to the back of the room. A lot of my job requires communicating with vendors, various lab groups, and supervisors so I had to get over that if I wanted to succeed. Asking for what I wanted and advocating for myself and my group, while it hasn’t succeeded 100% of the time, has opened many doors. Never be afraid to invite for coffee a senior team member that you admire to discuss your goals, your career, or just get to know them and their career trajectory a little better.
Megan Job
Associate Researcher, CGND
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I’m an Associate Researcher at the Center for Genomics Neurological Disease (CGND) under Hemali Phatnani. I joined about four months ago and have been loving my experience. My main role has been shadowing Associate Scientists such as Kristy Kang and Associate Researchers such as Demetra Catalano. Over these past months I’ve been learning how to both grow and care for different cell lines such as fibroblasts and stem cells. Aside from that, I’ve been sectioning tissue for DNA/RNA sequencing. When I’m not doing benchwork, you can find me organizing and submitting DNA or RNA samples for sequencing for various projects at CGND.
What got you interested in STEM?
I grew up with my aunt who was a registered nurse at Lenox Hill Hospital. When I was a young child, she told me these detailed stories that brought her patients and their conditions vividly to life. She described the human body and the disease so well that as a 10-year-old, I was able to understand the pathophysiology of various diseases. There always came a point in the story or the description of the disease that she couldn’t explain, and she would tell me to look it up and find out for myself. That’s when I started researching different diseases, conditions, you name it. I couldn’t and still cannot get enough of it.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
Imposter syndrome. I’ve been the only Black person and woman in many STEM classes, and the experience took a huge toll on my self-esteem. The stress of being in a space that is both white and male dominated started affecting my mental health as a young scientist. The field is filled with extremely smart individuals, and I felt like the complete opposite for a very long time. I couldn’t put the sense of “not feeling smart enough” or “feeling uncomfortable in my own skin” into proper words until I took a psychology course that explained the effects of imposter syndrome. The syndrome describes the fear or anxiety one has of fitting into the stereotype of their identity. That fear/anxiety then gets in the way of your ability to think scientifically, and you may perform poorly. Essentially, you shoot yourself in the foot. Once I learned that much of the true origins of the fields we see in STEM were developed and/or enhanced by people of color, my feelings of not belonging faded away.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
Right now, my biggest inspiration is a blogger, Lydia Dinga. She bought her first home completely on her own at 27. A goal of mine is to own a house by 27.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
Breathe! There are going to be so many times you feel frustrated, tired, confused, you name it! Take a deep breath and find that one moment you knew you wanted to be in STEM. For me, I think of the hours when my aunt told me stories about the human body. The problems get smaller, and you start to feel your passion again.
Cindy Li
Associate Scientist II, SeqOps Lab
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I am currently an Associate Scientist II on the Quality Control [QC] team of the Production Lab. My everyday task varies in the lab, but you’ll find me doing one of the following: sample extraction, genotyping, or running QC on incoming DNA/RNA samples for Next-Generation Sequencing.
What got you interested in STEM?
The main factors that stirred my interest in STEM were curiosity and how relevant science is to life. I love that learning doesn’t ever end and that there is always something new waiting to be discovered.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
For me, the transition from graduating college to the start of my career was the hardest. I majored in forensic science and chemistry, which I loved, but in the real world it was super competitive. Especially if I wanted to stay home in New York City. It led to a lot of self-doubt as to whether or not I was on the right path, but ultimately, I knew that I loved working in a lab environment. I had to re-assess my plans, work extra hard, and just grab any opportunity to get my foot in the door. I am very fortunate to be part of an organization that allows for growth and basically made me the scientist I am today. I’ve been at NYGC for a little over six years now and I’m proud of how much I’ve accomplished so far.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
My older cousins were great female role models for me growing up, and even to this day I can count on them if I need advice. They came to the United States when they were pre-teens and despite having to learn a second language, they were often tasked with helping to translate for our extended family As I grew older, some of that responsibility was shifted to me, the oldest child of immigrant parents, and it was not an easy feat. I don’t know how they did it or even had the patience for it.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
Set goals for yourself. It’s always great to have a guideline for what you want to work towards. If you achieve them, that’s amazing. But if you don’t, do not be discouraged—learn from the experience and see what needs to be adjusted to better suit you at that specific point in your life.
Dina Manaa
SeqOps Manager
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
I’m currently a Lab Manager in the Production Lab. I joined the NYGC team in 2014 and have been with the Center for about six years. In my role, I oversee incoming projects through extraction, QC, and genotyping workflows, as well as manage our laboratory inventory. I work closely with various groups and appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with such a knowledgeable team.
What got you interested in STEM?
From a young age, I’ve been interested in science and specifically biology. I was fascinated with the complexity of the human body and how it functions. These are unlimited areas of research with so much to learn and uncover. It is very rewarding to contribute to such valuable research in a field that is constantly evolving.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
As a woman in STEM, I have been very fortunate to face little adversity in my career thus far. Women have overcome many obstacles in order to bridge the gender gap and have truly diversified the field. When I began working at NYGC, I was also in school part-time earning my MS in biology. I had the opportunity to work alongside several female mentors in my graduate research lab and was grateful to have learned so much from them. That is also the case in my current role, and it is empowering to work with many strong female leaders.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
I’m extremely grateful for the support I receive from my loved ones. There are a number of people who come to mind that inspire me to be the best version of myself. One of them is my mom, who has been a huge inspiration throughout my life. I admire her strength and ability to power through many challenging obstacles as an immigrant in this country. She has always been there to encourage me to better myself and focus on my goals.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
Always trust and believe in yourself; you know more than you think you do.
Don’t be afraid to speak up and share your opinion.
Jacquelyn Massaro
Accounting Associate II, Finance
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
In addition to general accounting responsibilities, I work with our project management team to track the delivery of sequencing projects and ensure we receive timely payment. I also work with the faculty labs to order supplies needed for their project and collaborate with our outside vendor representatives to negotiate and secure advantageous pricing of these supplies.
What got you interested in STEM?
I always had an interest in science, specifically microbiology. It was fascinating to me that something smaller than an ant could wreak so much havoc on a society (as 2020 has shown us). I got my undergraduate degree in biology with the intention of pursuing a career in research. However, after helping out at the NYGC on the academic research floor, both inside and outside the labs, I realized that research life wasn’t really for me. During this time, I discovered that I really liked the “behind the scenes” aspect of working at a biotech institution. I started working to develop a centralized system for the procurement of lab supplies and found that I excelled at finding ways to increase efficiency and that I enjoyed the challenge of negotiating a good deal. Now I work completely with the finance team and have the opportunity to do what I enjoy and continue to be involved, in some way, in scientific research.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
The biggest challenge I have faced so far would be the realization that my intended career path in scientific research no longer fit in with the life goals I had set for myself. The decision either to continue down this road that was already there and familiar but not what I wanted, or to take a risk and pursue a path more suited to where I wanted to be in five years was something with which I really struggled. I was incredibly fortunate to work for an organization that supported me in my new aspirations and provided me with the opportunity to pursue them.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
Hands down my biggest inspiration is my mother Monica. We’ve always had a great relationship, and she has always supported me in everything I do. Over the past four years she has battled kidney disease, received a kidney transplant, survived cancer, and is now dealing with this pandemic. She has refused to let any of this stop her. She continued to work full-time until her cancer treatment regimen made that impossible, for example. However, in true Massaro fashion, as soon as she beat the cancer, my mother started negotiating her return to work with her transplant team and oncologist. She is the strongest woman I know. I am so lucky to have such an incredible role model in my life.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
Be open to opportunity and be okay with stepping outside of your comfort zone. Growth is rarely ever easy and, from my experience, seems to come about in unexpected ways. Always be willing to take on new challenges, even if you feel you aren’t completely ready. As Ginni Rometty, the former chair, president, and chief executive officer of IBM, has said: “Growth and comfort never coexist.”
Nadia Propp
Scientific Research Manager, CGND
Tell us about your current role at the NYGC.
My role includes working closely with CGND Director Hemali Phatnani to ensure the smooth operation of her laboratories here and at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). I also assist administratively with the ALS Consortium — monitoring its workflow from logistics to operations, closely working with my “boots on the ground” team to ensure the timely processing and sequencing of consortium samples, and overseeing the consortium’s fiscal aspects as well as other projects in the lab. My goal is not only to maintain pleasant and productive relationships with various departments at NYGC but also to keep management, production, legal, finance, and post-award processes tied to the CGND/ALS Consortium moving forward. Having said that, I would be nothing without my team — Kristy Kang, Demetra Catalano, Emily Hoelzli, and Miguel Cuevas — and the mentorship of my PI, Hemali.
What got you interested in STEM?
After I graduated from high school, I needed a college-level English course in order to be accepted to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, so I enrolled at the Madison Area Technical College to meet the requirements. I took advantage of my enrollment and registered for a range of different classes. My exposure to science came via a course in parasitology. It was taught by a dynamic and passionate professor who made each lecture exciting and relevant, full of real-life clinical examples and anecdotes. Needless to say, I lost all interest in the business degree that I had wanted to pursue and became intrigued by the idea of studying biology.
What, if any, barriers or challenges have you faced in your career?
Certainly I have faced the challenge of uncertainty in predicting the direction of my career path and in lacking a true mentor to help me identify where I wanted to go. After I graduated from college, I followed my first PI, Dr. David Pauza, to the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) in Baltimore, MD, where he continued to pursue the study of HIV and vaccine development I worked as a technician and part-time lab manager. I was 23 years old and had to supplement my income by working in the hospitality industry over the weekends and some weekdays. I toyed with the idea of graduate school, then nursing school, then public health school, but nothing seemed right. There were very few women at the institute who held PI positions, and the female postdocs I knew seemed in a constant state of flux — when was the funding going to end and where would that take them? At IHV, I also had an opportunity to spend three months in Nigeria on a project that opened my eyes to a different reality and a different kind of human suffering. It also made me want to go to other places and seek other opportunities.
What/who is your biggest inspiration?
When I moved to New York City to attend a master’s program at Columbia University, I joined a lab at NYU. I had the most miserable time and after three months I applied for a tech position in Dr. Richard Axel’s lab. Olfaction and neuroscience sounded really cool, but I knew nothing about it. When I walked into the office of Adriana Nemes, the Axel lab manager, I felt an instant connection and a sense of belonging. It was an extremely intimidating interview process, talking to very smart people about their projects that I could only partially grasp, but Adriana made me feel at ease and spoke to me like an equal. After I adjusted to my new surroundings and the lab dynamic, I became impressed with the work ethic of postdocs like Vanessa Ruta, Gloria Choi, Sophie Caron, and Barbara Noro. They held their own in a heavily male-dominated setting and were never fazed. But most importantly, it was Adriana’s leadership, kindness, and intelligence that made that intimidating, competitive environment such a pleasurable workplace.
What is the best piece of advice you would give to women starting out in their career?
Don’t take anything personally, be yourself, admit your mistakes, and be courageous and speak up. It’s okay to be vulnerable sometimes. You cannot be responsible for other people’s behavior or words; you are only answerable for your own actions and reactions.
