McGill hosts third annual Young Women In Bio event

On March 22, McGill female graduate students from the Goodman Cancer Research Centre hosted the third annual Young Women in Bio (YWIB) event – an initiative designed to introduce young women to careers in science. YWIB is an organization of professional women at all stages in their careers in the field of science, with the purpose of inspiring and empowering young women to reach the highest levels of leadership.
Students from Villa Maria High School and their hosts from the Goodman Cancer Research Centre.
Students from Villa Maria High School and their hosts from the Goodman Cancer Research Centre at the recent Young Women in Bio event.

By Sylvia Andrzejewski

On March 22, McGill female graduate students from the Goodman Cancer Research Centre hosted the third annual Young Women in Bio (YWIB) event – an initiative designed to introduce young women to careers in science. YWIB is an organization of professional women at all stages in their careers in the field of science, with the purpose of inspiring and empowering young women to reach the highest levels of leadership. YWIB has 12 chapters worldwide, and McGill has been an active contributor to the Montreal chapter of YWIB for the last three years.

In all, 15 Grade 9 students from Villa Maria High School were introduced to the Cancer Centre and the exciting research being conducted there.

The young women were intrigued as they participated in laboratory demonstrations exploring the nature of cells – from looking at cancer cells under a microscope, to isolating and studying DNA, to quantifying isolated proteins.

Following lunch participants were introduced to various career options in science and presented with different paths they could pursue after their academic training. The female graduate students also shared their own experiences during their studies and careers in science, and answered any questions and concerns the girls had about having a future in science, as well as offering advice on how to attain one’s goals and aspirations.

This event would not have been possible without the resources and support of YWIB as well as the time and effort the female graduate students of the Goodman Cancer Research Centre dedicated to organizing this event, experiments and presentations.