Spotlight: International Day for Women and Girls in Science

Q: What is your area of research?

A: Pregnancy and motherhood can have long-term effects on women’s physiology, health, and aging. I am interested in understanding how past motherhood experience affects the brain, cognitive decline, and risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later on in life.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a degree/career in science?

A: I love asking questions (why?, how?) and learning new things every day.

Q: What advice would you give to girls and young women who want to pursue education/work in STEM?

A: Surround yourself of a good support system (family, friends and colleagues) and look for mentors that will support your career. In the end enjoy it and have fun. I am fortunate that my job is also my hobby!

The Women’s Health Research Institute would like to acknowledge that we are uninvited guests on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lo, and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) Nations.

As a provincial research institute committed to improving the health outcomes of women, including those across the 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum, we recognize our responsibility in the collective effort towards establishing culturally safe health care systems and services that address health inequities among Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and Two-spirit peoples.

We encourage all people involved in research to read both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the In Plain Sight Report, and reflect on ways we can incorporate the recommendations into our work. As we gather in spaces together, we encourage you to reflect on your positionality on these lands and your personal commitments to reconciliation.

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