Dawn Armstrong is a medical student at Queen's University and a mother of four. She sat down with us to discuss her non-traditional path to medical school, and the realities of balancing family life with a career in STEMM.

Dr. Virginia Walker is a professor of Molecular Genetics at Queen's University. In this episode, Dr. Walker chats with us about the importance of curiosity in STEMM and discusses her journey in this field.

Dr. Susan Boehnke is an assistant professor at Queen's University specializing in Neurophysiology. In this episode she offers her perspective on juggling a career in STEMM with the responsibilities of motherhood.

Arlene is a Queen’s University ‘Gael’ in and out, tentatively completing her first two degrees here in Kingston. She completed her undergraduate degree in Life Sciences with a specialization in biomedical research, and is now working towards her Master’s in Anatomical Sciences. While completing her undergrad, she worked part time as a student pharmacy assistant, giving her a foundational understanding of healthcare in a pharmacy setting. She is currently a graduate teaching assistant for Anatomy courses in the Biomedical and Molecular Sciences department, while also working as an Instructional Design Assistant for the Queen’s Bachelor of Health Sciences program. She holds a passion for healthcare in practical, research, and academic settings, and plans to continually broaden her experiences in the many health-related sciences disciplines before eventually specializing in medicine.

Kathryn Hong to discuss her experiences as a woman in STEMM. Kathryn is 23 and the Founder of the Girls SySTEM Mentorship Program - a unique mentorship platform connecting girls in grades 7-12 with professional mentors in their desired STEM fields. The goal of the program is to increase women's representation in these fields by providing young girls with early, first-hand insight into the STEM workforce through workplace shadowing, diverse learning opportunities, and mentorship. The Girls SySTEM Program is rooted in her own experiences as a researcher and the role that mentorship has played in shaping her academic career. After completing her Master's in Biomedical and Molecular Sciences at Queen's University, she decided to pursue her research at the Schulich Heart Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences in Toronto. She hopes her research in atrial fibrillation management and lifestyle medicine will contribute to the field of arrhythmia management and inspire other young girls to follow their passions!

Leda is a professor in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, formerly Microbiology and Immunology. She did her undergraduate degree in Greece at the Agricultural University of Athens which her grandfather founded back in 1919. In 1973, Leda came to Canada to do a Master's at McGill, then a PhD at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. In 1981, she received a "Centennial Fellowship" from the Medical research Council of Canada to be a postdoctoral fellow in Princeton and then at Harvard. Leda came to Queen's as an assistant professor in July of 1986. She has received several other research and teaching awards over the years and has published over 100 peer reviewed papers, reviews and book chapters.

Enjoy Part 2!

Caroline is an Accredited Practising Dietitian from Melbourne, Australia. In 2017 Caroline moved to Kingston as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Unit at Queen’s University with Professor Stephen Vanner. Caroline’s research focuses on use of dietary modifications for gastrointestinal conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. In addition to her research, Caroline has been working as a Dietitian since 2009 specializing in gastrointestinal disease and food intolerance.

Jenna is currently pursuing her Master’s of Science in Biology. She studies plant ecology in the lab of Dr. Lonnie Aarssen whom she did her undergraduate thesis with and was subsequently offered to stay for a masters. Currently her research is looking at meristem allocation in angiosperms (wildflowers) - specifically in native or naturalized populations - which is pertinent in studying climate change and gathering more data on some invasive species.