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By Maria Carla Rozorea
The document describes the “Kuggie Vallee Distinguished Lectures and Workshops,” hosted by MIT’s Picower Institute, an event that gathered female scientists and advocates for gender equality in science. The event celebrated the achievements of women in the field while addressing the barriers that continue to limit their professional advancement. Organized by Li-Huei Tsai, the director of the Picower Institute, the event highlighted both remarkable accomplishments of women in science and the social and cultural challenges they face.
The first day featured lectures by two notable scientists: Michelle Monje and Erin Schuman. Monje, a pediatric neuro-oncologist at Stanford, known for her innovative work in neuro-oncology, presented groundbreaking findings on childhood brain tumors. Her research showed how certain tumors “hijack” neural circuits to drive their own growth. Her team has demonstrated that these brain tumors exploit neurons’ electrical activity by connecting directly to them, a completely new mechanism that could open the door to novel therapeutic approaches. Erin Schuman, director of the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, discussed her discoveries about synapses and how neurons produce proteins locally at the synapse, enabling efficient cell-to-cell communication. Her work from the 1990s challenged prior scientific beliefs, showing that neurons don’t need to transport proteins from the nucleus to the synapse but can produce them on-site, a significant advancement in neuroscience.
The second day was dedicated to examining the social and structural barriers that still limit women’s progress in science. Susan Silbey from MIT argued that, beyond explicit harassment and discrimination, women are often marginalized through deeply ingrained “cultural habits,” making them less visible even when they hold leadership roles. She illustrated this with findings from the “Elephant in the Valley” survey, which revealed that women in Silicon Valley are frequently excluded from professional social circles, and their contributions are often ignored or undervalued. Kara McKinley from Harvard noted that while women are well represented as students and postdocs in some scientific fields, only about 20% of faculty positions are held by women. She highlighted that women tend to delay applying for academic positions, aiming to be more qualified than their male colleagues.
Another barrier discussed was women’s tendency to avoid submitting their work to prestigious journals, preferring to ensure every detail of their research is “perfect.” To counter these challenges, support initiatives were presented, such as the Leading Edge Symposium, a program designed to support female postdocs in securing academic positions.
The event concluded with a clear message: to build a fairer academic community, it is essential to support women through mentorship and supportive networks that promote equality and create real opportunities for advancement.
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