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.
Hi, this is amazing! I’m happy to see McGill is involved in this type of initiative. High school kids really need and benefit from early exposure to real life careers. As a member of the McGill community and the stepmom of a teenage girl, I am especially pleased to see McGill encouraging girls into sciences. Will this event be repeating again anytime soon? and might it be open to girls from other schools such as College Sainte-Marcelline? Thank you for your efforts.