Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science
On February 11, St. Joe’s celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science and our women scientists who are breaking barriers in their fields. To mark the day, we spoke with some of our women researchers about their journeys, what they are most proud of, and their advice to girls and young women who aspire to be researchers.
Dr. Marla Beauchamp
Dr. Marla Beauchamp is a physical therapist and assistant professor in the School of Rehabilitation Science and an associate member in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. Beauchamp completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Toronto and her postdoctoral training in outcomes measurement at Harvard Medical School in Boston. She holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Mobility, Aging and Chronic Disease.
The overall objective of Dr. Beauchamp’s research program is to develop evidence-based strategies to improve mobility among older adults. Her research has two key arms related to this aim: (1) advancing the assessment of mobility problems among older adults; and (2) personalized rehabilitative interventions to optimize late-life mobility.
What led you to pursue a career in research?
The biggest thing that drew me to research is that it seemed like the most effective way to do work that could impact a lot of people. I used to work clinically as a physiotherapist with individual patients and while I found it incredibly rewarding, I wanted to do something that could help on a potentially bigger scale. I also had this odd combination of love for math, science and writing so a research career suited me well! Finally, one of my professors during my clinical training really encouraged me to do my PhD with her and I found her enthusiasm contagious.
Did you face any challenges or obstacles in your journey as a scientist? How did you overcome them?
It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to study and even that I wanted to become a scientist. For example, I was working as a medical writer after my undergraduate degree when I decided I wanted to go back to school and discovered physiotherapy and health research. Then when I began my academic position here at McMaster, I again needed to figure out what my research program should look like and how to bring in research funding. I think the biggest lesson for me has been to make sure I am passionate about what I’m doing and to be persistent. Nothing happens over night but if you love what you’re doing and are not afraid to try, fail, learn, and then try again, you will eventually succeed.
What are you most proud of in your career?
The relationships and collaborations that I have built. I have learned that to do great science you need a team around you, and I have been so fortunate to have incredible trainees, staff and colleagues who support me and who inspire me to keep going. Working with people is what makes this job so fun.
What would you say to girls and young women who aspire to become scientists?
I would say to find an area that truly excites you, so it doesn’t feel like work, and to make sure to foster friendships with peers so you can support each other. My best experiences have been working with team members on a project and sharing both our struggles and successes.
Dr. Beauchamp was recently named a Canada Research Chair in Mobility, Aging and Chronic Disease.
Dr. Kim Madden
Dr. Kim Madden is an assistant professor in the departments of Surgery and Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact (HEI). She is a research affiliate at The Research Institute of St. Joe's Hamilton. Madden is also affiliated with the Centre for Evidence-Based Orthopaedics and the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR).
Dr. Madden has been working in orthopaedics research since 2010, conducting large international randomized controlled trials. Her PhD focused on methodological transparency in intimate partner violence research. Her current research focuses on hip and knee replacement surgery, pain management and medical cannabis, peri-operative care, and sports medicine.
What led you to pursue a career in research?
It was a bit of an accident that led me to my career in research. I did my undergrad degree in health studies at University of Waterloo and, like many others in my program, my goal was to go to medical school. My undergrad program was a co-op degree, so we had to do 20 months of full-time work experience to graduate. I set out to do 3 types of co-op jobs that I thought would prepare me for medical school: caring for patients, working in a lab, and research. I did the first two, but I couldn’t see myself doing those as a career. My final 8-month co-op term was as a research assistant at McMaster University in orthopaedic surgery. My supervisor was Dr. Mohit Bhandari and he gave me such interesting work that I fell in love with research. When it came time to apply to medical school, I decided I wanted to apply to graduate school to do my own research instead.
Did you face any challenges or obstacles in your journey as a scientist? How did you overcome them?
I am the first person in my extended family to go to university, let alone get a PhD, so it was challenging to navigate academia without having my family to help guide me. However, I have been very fortunate to have such a supportive supervisor and group of colleagues that gave me all the advice and support that I needed to succeed, kind of like a second family.
What are you most proud of in your career?
I can’t say enough good things about the orthopaedic research team at McMaster and St. Joe’s. Together we completed the largest orthopaedic trauma trial ever conducted at that time. I just reached a milestone of 100 published journal articles. Number of articles isn’t the most important thing, but I think it highlights what a scientist can do as part of an excellent team and why collaboration is key in science. Now I have started my own research group with some of the orthopaedic surgeons at St. Joe’s and we are leading some really important research on managing the opioid crisis, cannabis for pain management, advances in surgical technology, and preventing surgical infections that will help a lot of patients. And I get to mentor the next generation of scientists as a graduate supervisor at McMaster!
What would you say to girls and young women who aspire to become scientists?
I would say that if you want to be a scientist, even if nobody in your family is, you should go for it. The most important part of doing science for me was finding a mentor and team of people that shared my values and that I could see myself working with for a long time. Once you have found a good mentor and a good team, the rest will fall into place.