February 11 was the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. At the European Synthetic Cell Initiative, we think it is important to celebrate this day and add to the collective voice on equality in science. On this occasion, we are highlighting female researchers in our community to hear about their journey as female researchers, some of their advice, and the changes needed for greater equality.

In conversation with Liedewij Laan

Liedewij Laan has been leading a research group at TU Delft (Netherlands) since October 2014. Her group focuses on evolutionary cell biophysics: how can a cell be both robust on cell cycle timescales while being also adaptive on evolutionary timescales. Read more

In conversation with Marcelina Cardoso Dos Santos

Marcelina Cardoso Dos Santos is the only one in her family working in science and with a PhD. Biophysicist at the CEA (The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission) at Paris-Saclay University, Institute of Integrative Biology of the Cell since 2018, she is interested in biomimetic systems and biosensing. Read more

In conversation with Claudia Contini

Originally from Sardinia, Italy, Claudia Contini does not come from an academic family and is in fact the only person in her family with a PhD. After a PhD in Physical Chemistry at University College London (UCL), she worked for five years at Imperial College London and is now a Principal Investigator at Queen Mary University, London, UK. Read more

In conversation with Jacqueline De Lora

Jacqueline De Lora is a postdoc in the lab of Joachim Spatz at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Germany. Born and raised in New Mexico, USA, she completed her PhD in biomedical Sciences at the University of New Mexico, with a focus on biomedical engineering. One of Jacqueline’s main activities is to develop new microfluidic devices that uses acoustic vibrations. Read more

In conversation with Zexi Xu

Zexi Xu is a postdoc in the Membrane Biochemistry and Biophysics research group at Utrecht University. She is currently working on the interaction between cold atmospheric plasma and biological membranes. Read more