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32 Robert WoodJohnson
I
MEDICINE
Engineering at Rutgers, serve as directors of Rutgers'
Interdisciplinary Job Opportunities for Biomedical Scientists
(iJOBS) program, implemented through a $1,937,000 grant
from the NIH. The program, which is open to all PhD and
postdoctoral candidates in the life sciences at Rutgers, has been
especially popular among women. Its three executive directors
include Janet Alder, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience
and cell biology and assistant dean for graduate academic and
student affairs, Rutgers School of Graduate Studies.
Because their training follows an academic model, students
in the life sciences might presume that they are destined for a
career in academia, says Dr. Millonig. iJOBS, however, pro-
vides broad exposure to options in nonacademic fields, offer-
ing a mix of formal academic instruction and workshops,
shadowing opportunities, and mentoring by professionals
from outside academia.
Women Building
STEM-Related Careers
D
r. Walworth has mentored 18 graduate and postgraduate
students or fellows, including many women. She mentions
three who exemplify the versatility of careers in STEM.
Cherise Bernard, PhD
W
hile earning her doctoral degree
in cellular and molecular phar-
macology in Dr. Walworth's lab, Dr.
Bernard completed the Rutgers Mini-
MBA: BioPharma Innovation program
and interned in Rutgers' Office of
Research Commercialization, learning about scientific licens-
ing, marketing, and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Bernard went on to apply her scientific training to inno-
vation and program development at other research-intensive
universities, first at the Rockefeller University and then at the
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In her most recent
reinvention, Dr. Bernard works for Elsevier, a health analytics
company and publisher of science and health research.
Initially in the United States, and now globally, her team meets
with institutional leadership to develop strategies to "fill in
their gaps," she says, citing as examples helping scientists
early in their careers to collaborate better, reach solutions
faster, and make their research more visible.
Dr. Bernard also volunteers for "1000 Girls, 1000 Futures,"
a New York Academy of Sciences initiative that pairs teenage
girls from around the world who are interested in STEM with
outstanding women scientists who serve as their mentors.
"Innovation requires strength and resilience, but also nurtur-
ing, and women are very good at that," she says. Professionally
and as a volunteer, she feels Dr. Walworth's influence more
than any other. "She is compassionate, nurturing, and always
available. This is how I operate with colleagues, and I learned
it from her."
Barbara Dul, PhD
D
r. Dul completed her
doctoral work in Dr.
Walworth's lab, using fission
yeast to explicate the role of
chromatin in response to
DNA damage to cells. As an
American Cancer Society fel-
low, she did postdoctoral work in the laboratory of James
Broach, then professor of molecular biology at Princeton, and
later joined the laboratory of Thomas Muir, PhD, Van Zandt
Williams, Jr., Class of 1965, Professor and chair, Department
of Chemistry, as a senior researcher.
In addition to continuing her research, Dr. Dul serves as Dr.
Muir's laboratory manager, supervising a team of 25, while
enjoying a flexible schedule that allows her to spend more
time with her children.
"At several pivotal points, Nancy was my adviser on science
and on life," she says of Dr. Walworth. "She could explain the
most difficult scientific topics as easily she talked about life
outside the lab. She helped me see every aspect of a question,
all the pros and cons, and let me decide what was best."
Anuja George, PhD
A
s Dr. Walworth's administrative re-
sponsibilities increased, she re-
cruited a scientist to manage the lab. In
addition, she changed the makeup of
the lab team to include a balance of
graduate students and undergraduates,
the latter working under the guidance of Dr. George, the lab's
senior scientist since 2012.
Dr. George earned her doctorate in genetic engineering and
biotechnology in her native India--where the government
encourages women's education by subsidizing fees for girls in
all government-supported schools. She then spent six years at
the NIH in the fast-paced lab of Gordon Hager, PhD, study-
ing endocrine receptors. Dr. George enthuses over being a sci-
entist in America. "It's the best!" she says, adding that she
loves her work: "mentoring, and learning from the under-
graduates--and keeping the yeast cells alive."
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