Diverse Perspectives in Stem Cell Science: A Q&A with Raquel Garza

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your current research focus? 

A: I am originally from Mexico and came to Sweden six years ago to study a master's in bioinformatics. I studied computer science during my bachelor's and was living in Mexico but looking to do my master's abroad. I applied to a bunch of places in Europe and chose Lund University because they gave me a fully funded scholarship without which I would not have been able to afford it.   

I defended my PhD in neuroscience this year also at Lund University and am now a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular Neurogenetics Laboratory, where I work entirely on the dry lab. During my PhD I worked to develop different pipelines and scripts to study the role of transposable elements during brain development, in neuroinflammation, and in different neurodegenerative diseases.  

Q: What initially sparked your interest in science and motivated you to pursue a career in science? 

Popular Science books. I was on a physics and maths track in high school, but I have always liked biology too. I read popular science on the side and enrolled in science summer clubs and internships whenever the opportunity arose. I have always found molecular biology to be mind-blowing and its history quite inspiring. So, when picking a bachelor’s program, I was between biology and engineering. I had to study in my hometown as I was not able to move at the beginning of my bachelors. My university is quite well known in Mexico for their engineering programs, so I thought it was a good opportunity to take a “do-it-all” engineering program which at the time I was convinced was mechatronics engineering.  

At some point I realised I was really not enjoying the “mechanics” part of it and that the subjects I most liked were math, programming, and data structures. I changed to a program very similar to computer science plus some electronics (I was not ready to give up some physics lectures). I focused on data science and found some opportunities to make a bioinformatics internship and summer schools in my last year. I have always been interested in biology, so it was fantastic to have these opportunities at hand.  

Q: Is there is anything about the research group where you work that you would like to highlight? 

When I started we used to make fun of the fact that we were almost all women back then. Coming from my bachelor’s, where I was one of the two girls in class, this was a very new environment for me. Computer science is a male dominated field, and it was not comfortable, but it was also what I was used to in an academic setting.  

It was a bit intimidating at first, which I realize now it is silly, but there was also a knowledge gap between me and them, and I had just moved to the other side of the world – I was in shock. I am happy to say that once the initial shock passed, I found my research group to be incredibly inspiring and welcoming. I had not realized how much I needed that change until I was already there, but it really does make a big life-quality improvement when you feel like you are heard and just fit in effortlessly. I am incredibly lucky to have such nice people around in the lab.   

Q: As a scientist, have you encountered any specific challenges within academia? 

A: Not in Sweden, at all. Unfortunately though, I have plenty of uncomfortable stories as a woman in tech from my bachelor’s. I received direct comments discouraging me from studying: "you don't really need to study this much”, “this is just while you marry, right?”, and "it is okay if you fail, men have to be providers”. I have gotten those comments from random people, classmates, and even professors. In retrospect, I should have made more of an effort to fight back. Unfortunately, I did not feel I had the voice to bring it up then. For this and some other reasons, I decided to move to a different campus in a bigger city the last two years of my bachelor’s. It was equally male-dominated there, but at least there were a few more women coordinators and professors in the engineering department I could complain to if something came up. I did the right choice moving cities – we once had a lecturer who said something along those lines to me and to my other two female classmates. We decided to go to our program coordinator, who happened to be a woman and within a week, she told us they were going to hire a new person. The man got fired just like that. A bigger campus in this case meant a (tiny bit) bigger community for women in tech. 

Q: What are some ways you think we could be more inclusive in academia?  

A: Sweden is already so aware of this, and I feel like especially in the Center there are a lot of initiatives to help people be involved and heard. However, as you are well aware at the DEI, we should push for more diversity in upper-level management. I think this should be priority – if you see someone you can relate to at a position you want, it is more likely that you will go ahead and get to that position one day.  

On a more day-to-day level, when I arrived to Sweden, I knew absolutely no one and had this hope that the PhD student who was supervising me was going to introduce me to people here. Of course, this was not his responsibility whatsoever. But l was in shock – not even cultural, it was just big changes everywhere – so I was very slow meeting people. I think we could all make a bigger effort to integrate newcomers. 

Q: Working in an international environment, what is your approach to understanding colleagues with diverse backgrounds? 

In general, I usually expect the best of people. If something feels odd, I usually assume there was a misunderstanding until proven otherwise. Everybody has their own background and carry their past context within them – their humour and ways of saying things are meant to sound different to the ones I am used to. On top of it, there might be a language barrier. There are so many things that could go wrong in the process, that it is surprising that it goes well most of the time. So, I just do not assume things.  

When I first arrived, I barely talked to people in the lab. I was terrified of messing up, saying something wrong, or asking something stupid. That is a little bit tricky, but I saw many people in the lab just asking, and asking, and asking until they got it right, so I followed. So, don’t assume things, and ask a hundred times if needed. 

Q: How do you personally contribute to fostering a diverse, inclusive environment within your research team? 

A: I try to mediate if there are misunderstandings. I think I have become relatively good at noticing when communication goes wrong, and I try to help out if I notice it. 

I think we do an okey job in seminars or events where we try to have a good mix of international people and a balanced women representation. I try to bring it up in organizing committees whenever I can. I would love to be more involved besides my day-to-day and events I have helped organizing, for example, with the DEI, but also in outer initiatives like pink programming.  

Q: What do you think that there could be good approaches that academic institutions or research organizations could adopt to promote diversity and inclusion and belonging in science?  

A: I think we should really try to make collaborations between fields and highlight good examples. For example, neuroscience has a good representation of women – we should leverage that and pull people from other fields. For me, it was such a lucky strike to find a place where I could feel comfortable and that I was appreciated for my different skills. It is key to be welcoming of different backgrounds. 

In other topic, I have been fed this idea that if I stay in academia, I will have a poor work-life balance and, I think, this is a common belief among PhD students. If you value other aspects of your life more, or if you are not an extremely career-oriented person, it becomes easy to wonder why staying. This could be something to work on and maybe open a conversation about. 

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring scientists from underrepresented backgrounds who are interested in career in stem cell research or, like in research in general?  

A: Have a focus point, something to work towards, regardless of what surrounds you. It is crucial to be somewhat self-reliant on motivation and curiosity. If you run out of things you are curious, read popular science of other fields. There is plenty to be mind-blown about. 

Otherwise, try to find people who inspire you, even if not in your immediate surroundings. Find someone you admire and can relate to. If you already have one, you could connect with them on Linkedln or Twitter. Many people love giving free advice on the internet, so I think it can be an opportunity if you introduce yourself and show interest in someone’s career trajectory.