by Candice L. Dwyer, Virginia Tech
While women account for over half of all PhDs, they comprise only 20-33% of tenured faculty (Houser, 2019). Women researchers have a smaller research footprint, lagging behind men in grant awards, publications, citation impact of first author publications, length of authorship history, and collaboration network sizes, including number of co-authors (de Kleijn et al., 2020). However, psychology possesses an optimistic sparkle of diversity and inclusion, wherein women drove the greatest increase in proportion of authorship across STEM fields (de Kleijn et al., 2020). One of the best ways to break gender barriers in academia is arguably to harness our mentorship model and hear from the source how to thrive in a historically male-dominated field. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to spotlight how five diverse women – who have collectively amassed over $23,000,000 in grant funding across their principal and co-investigator awards – became clinical science principal investigators (PIs), to in turn inspire current women clinical science PhD students hoping to pursue an academic career.
“If I’m only publishing, now I’m perishing…I had to reconceptualize publish or perish to include peace and wellness to have the biggest impact in communities.” Dr. Isha Metzger is a first-generation American from Atlanta, Georgia by way of Sierra Leone, West Africa, an assistant professor at Georgia State University (formerly University of Georgia), PI of the EMPOWER Lab, Owner of Cultural Concepts, LLC, and mental health expert for Salone Health, an organization dedicated to improving the health of Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad. Dr. Metzger researches ways to improve evidence-based cognitive behavioral treatments by understanding risk (e.g., racial discrimination) and resilience factors that affect Black youth and preventing poor health outcomes that result from stress. Dr. Metzger is taking on the age-old adage in academia “publish or perish” and reconceptualizing it to “peace, wellness, and productivity.” She discussed how, as young women researchers, our tendency is to not speak about ourselves. We are indoctrinated to believe the publish or perish adage and to not amplify what we’ve done. Instead, we are compelled to “prove it again,” and women must often demonstrate the same skill multiple times to be perceived as competent. Pressure to publish or perish can easily lead to burnout. Conversely, to do work in the community, Dr. Metzger recognized the importance of taking care of your mental health and fostering a climate of support, understanding, and wellness while publishing and being productive.
“Find people who understand intersectionality and seek out different sources of support to feel at home.” Dr. Michelle Madore is an affiliate of Stanford University, a clinical neuropsychologist at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System (MIRECC), Chair of the Public Interest Advisory Committee for the Society of Clinical Neuropsychology, Co-Finance Officer for the Asian American Psychological Association, Treasurer for the Asian Neuropsychological Association, and a work group lead within the Cultural and Neuropsychology Special Interest group at the International Neuropsychological Society, where she is developing a common terminology for understanding multiculturalism in neuropsychology. Dr. Madore wanted to be able to embrace her multicultural identity within the field and did not want to commit to one stream of work. Through leadership positions in multicultural psychological organizations and asking for what she needed to thrive internally, she was able to build a tailored career path consisting of clinical work, research, and training and embrace her multicultural identity. In this, she has found internal and external support while contributing to the evidence-base to help patients.
“No one will protect your time but you, so always ask for what you need in order to thrive.” Dr. Rosanna Breaux is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, Director of the Child Study Center, and PI of the CALMER lab. She leads investigations on the emotional, academic, and social functioning of children and adolescents, particularly those with ADHD, and studies the efficacy of novel interventions that target emotion dysregulation and interpersonal conflict in adolescents. Dr. Breaux emphasized the importance of asking for what you need and asking for help, citing that women are more likely to say yes even if it means putting themselves second. Specifically, as you progress through your program, post-doc, and early career faculty positions, negotiate your time – whether that be for research assistants, paid leave, startup funds to get your lab up and running, reduced teaching time, or flexibility – always ask for what you need to thrive.
“Science is not a one-person show, build an interdisciplinary network to together drive the field forward.” Dr. Claudia Padula is a first-generation Argentinian American, a research health science specialist at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (MIRECC), Instructor (Affiliate) at Stanford School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and member of NeuroChoice, an interdisciplinary research initiative aimed at understanding addiction from circuits to policy. She is currently researching gender differences in reward and emotion neural circuitry to predict treatment outcomes and identify novel treatment targets for Veterans with substance use disorders. Creating an overarching goal for her lab – to understand how individual differences contribute to addiction treatment effectiveness to enhance precision medicine – has been key to her success. Her research program leverages interdisciplinary networks by pulling from other fields in psychiatry, integrating new styles of learning, and working with other scientists who share a common goal. Not only have these factors impacted her lab’s mission, but these skills have helped her overcome the inevitable challenges women face in academia, including widening the lane for women to be assertive and confident.
“Know that you belong, there is a place for you, and pay it forward when it comes to mentoring.” Dr. Dylan Gee is an assistant professor at Yale University and PI of the CANDLab. She is leading investigations on the neural mechanisms underlying emotional learning and behavior during childhood and adolescence and how they relate to the effects of stress on the developing brain and risk for psychiatric illness. Dr. Gee cited the fundamental role her female mentors have played in shaping her ability to conduct innovative science and write successful grants while placing a high priority on mentorship and paying it forward. Reflecting on her own strengths and areas for growth as a mentor and helping trainees to develop complementary sources of mentoring have been important to building her own lab. Dr. Gee also highlighted how support for women needs to extend outwards from the lab and individual mentoring relationships into our institutions and spheres of professional development. For example, attending conferences early in your career is imperative to disseminate your research, but, historically, few conferences have provided support for caregivers (e.g., breastfeeding and pumping rooms, childcare support). Through advocacy for increased institutional support and empowering other women, women don’t have to choose between being a scientist and a parent.
Together, all these successful women PIs advise young women PhD students to seek out collaborators early, to ask for what you need internally in your organization, to seek support from several mentors who have different strengths, to protect your mental health, and to bidirectionally empower and support other women. ____________________________________________________________
References
Houser, K. A. (2019, March 7). What are the key challenges facing women in academia? SAGE Ocean; SAGE Ocean. https://ocean.sagepub.com/blog/what-are-the-key-challenges-facing-women-in-academia.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System (PCSAS).