Dr. Beth Geary: UK DRI Proteomics Lead and University of Dundee Senior Postdoctoral Scientist.
In celebration of International Women’s Day on Wednesday the 8th of March, Women in Neuroscience UK are taking over the UK DRI Twitter account! We aim to utilise this opportunity to highlight gender disparities in dementia research and showcase the stories of successful female dementia researchers. In this series of articles for IWD23, we interviewed inspiring women in dementia research about their work, their career pathways, and their advice for aspiring women in neuroscience.
What is your main field of research?
My main field of research is Mass spectrometry based proteomics and the bioinformatic analysis of the resultant data. For the majority of my work this is essentially using mass spectrometry to determine protein abundance levels within samples to answer scientific questions.
What is the coolest thing about your work/research?
I don’t really have my own research, so I live vicariously through others. I feel the happiness when my collaborators find success and feel the pain when they have setbacks. The best parts of my day are discussing the projects with my collaborators. I end a lot of my meetings with a smile on my face because I get to see the infectious joy and curiosity that is expressed by those I work with.
Have you ever faced any major setbacks?
All the time! No time is spent in academia without encountering setbacks. I’ve been involved with a number of projects that failed or produced nothing to follow up with. With my position now, the current generation of instruments are extremely sensitive and as such can be quite fickle with their up-time.
Do you feel as though you are equally represented in this field? How many of your associates are also female researchers?
At the post-doc and below level I feel equally represented. Mass spectrometry and proteomics as a whole have some excellent leading women in the field who have inspired me and I’m sure others too.
Tell me what you like to do when you aren't working on research.
I completely fill my time with various hobbies such as golf, chess, playing the violin, oil painting and playing games with friends. I like to go on hikes that last several days, preferably somewhere new in the highlands where I can just wake up and walk in whichever direction feels the most interesting.
What's next for you in both your life and research?
I try not to plan much into the future in either work or life. I think the expectations you can put on yourself can lead to too much pressure to achieve and can lead to disappointment easily. You can’t really predict the direction your life will go and I’m very happy with that, something exciting will always be around the corner.
Please share some key lessons or words of wisdom for women and girls interested in pursuing this career.
For academia, in all honesty I would regard it as a difficult career to be in. However, there most likely exists a niche for everyone where they can be happy. It’s a case of finding, or at times creating, that niche.
This article was written by Rebecca Parker, and edited by Ailie McWhinnie. Interested in writing for WiN UK yourself? Contact us through the blog page and the editors will be in touch!
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