Judith Eisen
Interview Posted By: Ashley Smith
1. Can you tell us a little about your background? i.e. Where you grew up, what education do you have, a summary of your resume, did you always want to do what you are doing now, when did you start to become interested in STEM, what internships/ volunteering
I grew up mostly in the midwestern United States. I’ve been a Professor of Biology in the University of Oregon Institute of Neuroscience for over 30 years. I wasn’t that interested in science when I was young – especially since there were so few women in science – I was more interested in studying anthropology and languages. In college I realized that you can’t do many types of experiments on people, though, so although you can make elaborate theories about how culture or language developed, you can’t test those theories. That’s when I realized that for me, the excitement of learning something involves observing, making an hypothesis, and then testing the hypothesis – just what we do in scientific research.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
As a Professor of Biology, I run a research laboratory, I teach, and I perform a variety of types of professional service.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
The things I learned as I was getting my PhD are things I apply every day in my job. But there are many things that I didn’t learn in my degree program. For example, I didn’t receive training in science pedagogy or in managing a laboratory.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
When I started my job, there were very few women faculty in my department. Of course there are many more now, and it is also the case across the country that there are many more women in academic science. But overall women in STEM fields still face many challenges, as evidenced by data showing that about 50% of the people earning PhDs in STEM are women, but the percentage of women decreases significantly at each step up the chain – both in academia and other segments of the work force.
5. What is the best and worst part of your job? What do you look forward to in your job on a day to day basis? What do you wish you could change?
The best parts of my job are having the opportunity to interact with many awesome people and having the opportunity to address exciting scientific questions. The worst part of my job is having to spend time on tasks related to administration and compliance. Of course these are important, but research is much more exciting to me.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
I feel that my work and my personal life are a continuum. My job is typically flexible enough that with planning, I can complete work tasks and have a personal life. I don’t really consider research work, though, as it is a pursuit in which I am totally engaged.
7. What do you define success as?
To me success has two aspects. One is outward – for example being successful at receiving grants to support research, publishing papers, and being recognized. The other is inward – feeling that I have done an excellent job at something, even if that something isn’t very significant to others.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
A thick skin – the ability to learn from criticism without taking it personally.
9. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I’ve had many mentors – two advisors during graduate school and several faculty who advised me during my postdoctoral fellowship. One of the important things they taught me was to believe in myself. Another was that true friends are sometimes the best critics because they can be really harsh without ruining the friendship, and their criticisms can save you from making serious mistakes.
I grew up mostly in the midwestern United States. I’ve been a Professor of Biology in the University of Oregon Institute of Neuroscience for over 30 years. I wasn’t that interested in science when I was young – especially since there were so few women in science – I was more interested in studying anthropology and languages. In college I realized that you can’t do many types of experiments on people, though, so although you can make elaborate theories about how culture or language developed, you can’t test those theories. That’s when I realized that for me, the excitement of learning something involves observing, making an hypothesis, and then testing the hypothesis – just what we do in scientific research.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
As a Professor of Biology, I run a research laboratory, I teach, and I perform a variety of types of professional service.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
The things I learned as I was getting my PhD are things I apply every day in my job. But there are many things that I didn’t learn in my degree program. For example, I didn’t receive training in science pedagogy or in managing a laboratory.
4. Have you faced any discrimination/ challenges being a woman in a stem field? If so, how did you deal with it? Do you have any advice for up and coming women in STEM?
When I started my job, there were very few women faculty in my department. Of course there are many more now, and it is also the case across the country that there are many more women in academic science. But overall women in STEM fields still face many challenges, as evidenced by data showing that about 50% of the people earning PhDs in STEM are women, but the percentage of women decreases significantly at each step up the chain – both in academia and other segments of the work force.
5. What is the best and worst part of your job? What do you look forward to in your job on a day to day basis? What do you wish you could change?
The best parts of my job are having the opportunity to interact with many awesome people and having the opportunity to address exciting scientific questions. The worst part of my job is having to spend time on tasks related to administration and compliance. Of course these are important, but research is much more exciting to me.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
I feel that my work and my personal life are a continuum. My job is typically flexible enough that with planning, I can complete work tasks and have a personal life. I don’t really consider research work, though, as it is a pursuit in which I am totally engaged.
7. What do you define success as?
To me success has two aspects. One is outward – for example being successful at receiving grants to support research, publishing papers, and being recognized. The other is inward – feeling that I have done an excellent job at something, even if that something isn’t very significant to others.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
A thick skin – the ability to learn from criticism without taking it personally.
9. Who was a mentor to you throughout your career? (can be more than one!) What did they teach you? How did they impact your life?
I’ve had many mentors – two advisors during graduate school and several faculty who advised me during my postdoctoral fellowship. One of the important things they taught me was to believe in myself. Another was that true friends are sometimes the best critics because they can be really harsh without ruining the friendship, and their criticisms can save you from making serious mistakes.