Ruth Steward is a Principal Investigator at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology and a member of the Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department at Rutgers University, New Jersey. Her research focuses on the role of the new Zfrp8 gene, identified in her lab, in hematopoiesis and oogenesis. She also has a collaboration with Arnold Rabson, head of the Child Health Institute of New Jersey, on the role of the vertebrate Zfrp8 homolog, PDCD2, in human hematopoiesis. In addition, Steward’s lab is investigating the function of the Drosophila Tet gene, the ortholog of human Tet1, 2 and 3, in regulating DNA demethylation.
Steward recently shared her ideas on the contribution of women to the scientific workforce.
What was your career path from graduate school to full professor?
Steward says that she had an unconventional journey to becoming a full professor. She trained as a lab tech before pursuing her undergraduate degree. After completing her Ph.D. in Switzerland, she went for a short postdoc at the University of Virginia for two years before moving to Christiane Nusslein-Volhard’s lab in Germany. There she worked on inducing mutants in the dorsal gene, essential for the formation of embryonic dorsal-ventral polarity. Soon after, Steward joined Paul Schedl’s lab at Princeton as an independent research scientist. In Schedl’s lab she cloned and characterized the Dorsal morphogen. She obtained her own funding and after 12 years at Princeton was recruited to Rutgers University as a full professor.
Has the contribution of women to science increased over the years?
“Depends on what you call ‘the years,’” Steward said. “In the 1980s and ‘90s there was a large increase in women professors, but the number has stagnated. Being a professor in medical or biological research, like molecular biology and genetics, is demanding in that you have to work hard, write grants, and have to have good, but realistic ideas, and also have to be a good advisor and lab manager. On the positive side you have more freedom than most other professions but you have to really work hard,” Steward said. In her opinion, the years leading up to tenure and its responsibilities usually coincide with the time when women consider starting a family and have other obligations. The only way to succeed in such a situation is to have an understanding partner. Steward also recommends “at least the semester but better yet the year after giving birth, women should not have to teach, which would alleviate a lot of stress.”
What are the major challenges for women or any scientist aiming for a career in academia?
Steward believes the biggest challenge is to get funded. In the ‘70s and ‘80s a good percentage of submitted grants actually got funded and later, at least after re-submission of a grant, research professors would get funded. Now, she laments, only 15-20% of grants are funded making it harder and more difficult for younger professors to conduct their research. However, women with the right attitude and merit will still get a job, Steward says. And she cautions women not to spend more time on students and committees than is required. It’s important for women to learn to say “no,” she says. Steward also advises women to spend their grant money and not to save for a “rainy day.” There is no gain without risk.
Is it harder for women to achieve and maintain leadership roles?
“For both men and women it depends on their personality,” says Steward, “but a very young inexperienced woman put with a senior group of men often is unfair, since the men won’t let her make decisions.” Steward qualifies this statement by saying that women in leadership positions have necessarily earned them and do not have a problem maintaining their authority. However, there are still more men in higher echelons of academia than women even now. Steward believes this might partly be due to the reluctance of women to accept such positions. “Women who want head of department positions would be chosen, but often women might rather spend time with their kids and family,” she said. If women want leadership positions they should “go for it!” she insisted.
Will the situation get better for women in the future?
Steward said that young, independent-thinking women who are well versed in modern technology might choose to venture into computer science, industry or even start-up companies. She says that self-confidence is a key factor in the success stories of women. She encourages women to find a good mentor since that makes a world of difference. In fact, Steward says, the mentor does not have to be your advisor; it could be someone in your department or even a nearby university. Steward herself has mentored and advised various younger faculty at Waksman Institute, both men and women. She stresses the fact that with grants, proposals, and any sort of scientific writing, getting reviews and feedback from colleagues is crucial. Very often women refrain from asking out of fear of negative judgment. However, Steward says that getting the right feedback on writing is of utmost importance.
Where is the academic job market headed?
To pave the way for younger, more enthusiastic faculty, we have to find a way to retire the older faculty. Newer positions will not be available unless the older faculty transition out of their positions and let new hires in.
In conclusion, Steward says, that all else considered the only thing that really matters is the quality of your research. If you work hard and the research is good then it will get recognized.
I would like to acknowledge Steward for taking time out of her busy schedule to talk to me about these issues and sharing her views with the community.
About the Author:
Arunika is a post-doctoral researcher in the labs of Drs. Michael Lampson and Ben Black at the University of Pennsylvania. She is working on the mechanism of centromere inheritance and maintenance in the mammalian germline.
