In Her Words
August 29, 2023In a recent interview with members of the Mystic Aquarium research team scientists, we had the opportunity to gain insight into their experiences as women in the STEM field. These brilliant individuals persevered and are making significant contributions to their fields. Their stories serve as a reminder of the importance of diversity and inclusion in STEM, and the need to continue working towards a more equitable and supportive environment for all. Join us as we delve deeper into their experiences and explore ways to empower and uplift women in STEM.
Tracy Romano, Ph.D. - Chief Scientist & VP of Research
Can you share a bit about your journey and what inspired you to pursue a career in science?
Ever since I was kid I loved biology. I converted my basement into a science lab and spent hours discovering! In college, I had a fascination for the dolphin brain and trying to understand how intelligent dolphins really are. This lead me to graduate school for a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. I received a Navy fellowship for graduate school and that enabled me to study with Dr. Sam Ridgway – ‘the Father of Marine Mammal research and medicine” during the summers. I was able to combine studies of neural-immune interactions at Rochester with summer work on Marine Mammals in San Diego for my thesis to study “Neural-immune interactions in the beluga whale.” After graduate school, I moved to San Diego on a National Research Council Fellowship and to study at the Scripps Research Institute. I was able to start the Marine Mammal Neuroimmunology Lab at the Navy’s marine mammal program. In 2004, I moved my lab and research program to lead the Research program at the Mystic Aquarium.
What do you consider to be your most significant achievement or contribution to your field?
Pioneering the field of marine mammal neuroimmunology and contributing what we know today about stress and the marine mammal immune system.
Are there any women scientists from history or the present who have particularly influenced or inspired you?
All women scientists who have paved the way for the future of women in science!
How important is mentorship and networking in supporting the advancement of women in science? Do you have any memorable mentorship experiences you'd like to share?
Mentorship is what it’s all about! I have had so many opportunities and experiences and want to pay it forward. I like to leverage my opportunities to inspire students of all ages.
What advice would you give to young women who are considering entering a scientific career or currently navigating their studies in STEM?
Make your own opportunities and take advantage of every opportunity. Carry out internships, volunteer! Attend scientific conferences in your area of interest and network! Study and work hard! Believe in yourself! Follow your passion!
Laura Thompson, Ph.D. - Research Scientist
Can you share a bit about your journey and what inspired you to pursue a career in science?
From a very young age, I was very interested in and curious about the oceans and the animals that live there. As kids, my parents brought us to explore local beaches, parks and aquariums, including Mystic Aquarium, and were always supportive of and encouraging of my interests. As I got older, I went to college to pursue a degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology at Queen Mary College at the University of London. It was during my undergraduate degree that I participated in an internship program at the Mystic Aquarium and was first introduced to marine mammal immunology, working on the immune systems of wild bottlenose dolphins. Knowing that ultimately I wanted a PhD, I was then offered a very unique opportunity to participate in a joint program between the aquarium and UConn; where I could pursue my degree but continue research in marine mammal health utilizing the resources and expertise at the Aquarium. During this time I was able to develop my own niche, understanding the relationship between health and dive physiology via immune responses in marine mammals, with a large focus on belugas.
I have been fortunate enough to continue to build this work since completing my PhD, through a post-doctoral fellowship and as a research scientist. Through out my time at Mystic, I have had the opportunity to travel to 3 locations in Canada and Alaska for wild beluga research. Being able to experience these animals in their environment is always a wonderful reminder of the importance of the research we do to help understand and protect these animals.
What do you consider to be your most significant achievement or contribution to your field?
During my Ph.D., I was able to develop a truly unique area of research; investigating the relationship between dive physiology and health, via adaptation of the immune system. This work drew from what we know of human dive physiology, and the first reporting of injury in marine mammals that resembled dive-related injury such as decompression sickness. We really do not know much about how marine mammal immune cells are adapted to diving, or how changing natural dive behaviors may impact health. It’s pretty cool to have pioneered the first studies looking at how marine mammal immune cells respond to pressure or nitrogen bubbles, and to see the research grow into comparative studies that could not only benefit marine mammal conservation but human medical research, as understanding how marine mammal normally avoid dive pathologies could help understand the processes of injury in humans.
Are there any women scientists from history or the present who have particularly influenced or inspired you? How important is mentorship and networking in supporting the advancement of women in science? Do you have any memorable mentorship experiences you'd like to share?
I think I was lucky growing up that I don’t remember running into anything that might have made me question what I could be because I was female. My parents were always very supportive, and even through school, my experiences were largely positive and encouraging. Dr. Tracy Romano, the vice-president of research and chief scientist at Mystic Aquarium was my supervisor during my internship as an undergraduate. This internship really opened a lot of doors for me, in terms of making connections but also exposure to opportunities that existed. It was also because of Dr. Romano, that I had the opportunity to pursue my PhD through the joint program with UConn and the Aquarium, and had the opportunity to fully develop my own interest into a new area of research. Dr. Romano has played a huge role in both my educational and professional experiences, and I continue to see her push to include and support not only women but all minority groups within science. My experience I think is kind of an embodiment of how mentorship can lead to career opportunities, and I don’t think I would be doing the exact research that I am doing if my path had gone elsewhere.
What advice would you give to young women who are considering entering a scientific career or currently navigating their studies in STEM?
I want young women to remember that there is no one pathway to get to a career in research, and that research efforts require a lot of support of various natures. For example, if you want to study marine mammals but can’t find a program to study them in school, you can study the techniques (behavior, physiology, immunology) and later apply them to your species of interest. Work hard, keep contacts and don’t be afraid to reach out to people, and be open to what opportunities may arise; even if isn’t exactly what you thought you wanted it may lead to some amazing experiences.
Susan Smith, Ph.D. - Research Scientist
Can you share a bit about your journey and what inspired you to pursue a career in science?
I always loved the biological sciences as a kid, and that joy for learning about our natural world never stopped. After going to school for another degree in early college, I decided to switch majors and do what I always wanted—marine sciences. After 4 years at University of Connecticut’s Marine Sciences program, I asked to work in a marine microbe lab for the summer, and by the end of that summer, I had signed up to do a graduate program there. That was almost 9 years ago now, and since then I stayed and completed my Phd and Post-doc, before winding up at the Mystic Aquarium Research Team where I get to use my microbial background to study the microbiome of marine animals like whales and penguins.
What do you consider to be your most significant achievement or contribution to your field?
Although it was mostly luck, I happened to discover a new genus and species of a certain kind of microbe when I was in my early graduate school days. Getting to name it and drop off the slide of it to the American Museum of Natural History (a place I fell in love with as a little girl) definitely felt like a significant part of my early career.
Are there any women scientists from history or the present who have particularly influenced or inspired you?
Sylvia A. Earle was a big inspiration for me. I even went to a book talk/signing for her when I was around 10 years old, and being the youngest in the crowd, she sat down and talked to me for a while. It’s gratifying when your heroes are nice.
How important is mentorship and networking in supporting the advancement of women in science? Do you have any memorable mentorship experiences you'd like to share?
I think mentorship might be the most important part of this; without mentors to advocate and guide students, a lot of young women in starting paths to the sciences get lost. Having someone around to just say, “I wanted to same thing as you when I was your age, and it was hard, but I made it,” is already such a powerful help to a young woman.
What advice would you give to young women who are considering entering a scientific career or currently navigating their studies in STEM?
Speak up for yourself. I always had trouble being the quiet kid in class, even when I had questions or knew the answer to something, I generally was pretty silent. As someone who has served as a teacher/professor looking back, I realize that the best students will come after class to show their enthusiasm for a subject or ask a question about something they didn’t understand, and those tend to be the students I advocate for. So ask questions, and show enthusiasm about your interests to the world around you, someone is likely listening.
Danielle Lavoie, MS - Research Technician
Can you share a bit about your journey and what inspired you to pursue a career in science?
Growing up, I was always the kid asking lots of questions because I wanted to learn how and why things worked the way they did. I spent summers at a lake growing up, and I loved learning everything I could about this whole new and unexplored world that existed under the surface of the water. In high school, I loved biology class, and when I learned that marine biology was a career option, I was all in. I have a BS in marine biology and was fortunate to participate in some really cool internship programs working with a variety of species such as clearnose skates and Eastern oysters, which introduced me to the world of research. I went on to get an MS, also in marine biology, where I focused on investigating the life cycle of an invasive parasite in American eels. I really loved the research aspect of science, so I ended up here with Mystic Aquarium’s Research Team in October 2021.
What do you consider to be your most significant achievement or contribution to your field?
As the first person in my family to pursue a graduate degree, getting my master’s degree in 2021 was a really significant milestone for me.
Are there any women scientists from history or the present who have particularly influenced or inspired you?
I’ve always found Rachel Carson’s writing and her influence on the environmental movement very inspirational.
How important is mentorship and networking in supporting the advancement of women in science? Do you have any memorable mentorship experiences you'd like to share?
I think mentorship and networking is instrumental in the advancement of women in science. And mentorship can come from anywhere: I was fortunate to have family members who were really nature- and conservation-oriented and having that mentorship really helped inspire me to continue in a career focused on conservation. As an undergraduate, I also had a really great mentor in a PhD student I worked with. She was instrumental in helping me decide I wanted to go to graduate school as well as coaching me on how best to go about applying, etc. I’m now in a spot in my career where I hope to be a mentor to other young women in STEM through outreach events like Women in Science.
What advice would you give to young women who are considering entering a scientific career or currently navigating their studies in STEM?
Try anything and everything. STEM is a HUGE field, and I think it’s really important to get a variety of hands-on experiences to see what direction you want to go in (or might not want to go in).