For International Women in STEM day, Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, spoke to students about why they started studying the sciences. Two of our students at the TRP, Azadeh Bojmehrani & Sally Moy gave their advice to young women interested in science.
Azadeh Bojmehrani
I am an Iranian-Canadian. I got my Ph.D. from Laval University, QC. Now, I am a first-year student at TRP Master’s degree program.
My family members are in sciences and professors at universities. They always talked about their experiences and how magical science is. As much as they try to gain a deeper understanding, they just discover how little they actually know.
After my studies, I hope to transfer my knowledge to the new generation and apply all I learned to make positive changes to the world, specifically for women and young girls.
My advice
Never give up! Following this path has its ups and downs, but I assure you at the end, the light will show up.
~
Sally Moy
I am a first-year master’s student in the Translational Research Program.
I am actually the first in my family to pursue a graduate degree in the sciences!
Growing up, I really enjoyed my high school science classes and I was fortunate to have encouraging teachers who supported my learning. In high school, we learned about science through textbooks but I was really interested in working upstream of that, and being a part of the scientific process before it makes it into the textbook!
After completing my graduate studies, I want to continue focussing on helping patients and amplifying their voices. When we think of patient-centred care, it’s important that patients are seen as essential partners in any clinical, scientific, or innovative initiative.
Scientific communication is also very important to me especially right now, where misinformation is becoming harder to tackle. The most important thing for me is making a positive difference in this world.
My advice
Science is a big field with lots of subfields: explore your options and learn what you like and don’t like.
Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and to invest in your own learning.
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You can find the full article on LMP’s website here.