Emily Monosson
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 in Newton Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. I was the kid catching grasshoppers and putting them in jars. Although I also used to play “Mad Scientist” mixing up those cleaning products my mom kept under the sink (NOT a good idea!) and try to poison those earwig bugs that seemed to ooze out of the play structures cracks! Ever since taking biology with Ms Leary (who seemed so cool and had a little monkey at home – she’d show us photos) and then Mr. Gottlieb in high school – I loved biology! I majored in bio in college (was never any question there) and had another great advisor Barb Boyer. She had kids that she’d talk about; and did cool stuff, like run the marine biology class where we stayed on an island in New Hampshire for two weeks doing field work. So all in all I was having a really positive biology experience and there were women – so the “women in science” never entered my mind as being something different or difficult. It was natural. Went from there to graduate school. I knew I wanted to something health and environment related didn’t know what. When I discovered toxicology, I was just hooked. Back then there weren’t all the CSI shows and other stuff about toxicology and there weren’t many graduate programs in the field either. Got a PhD in Biochemical toxicology (pharmacology really at that time, was the department I was in at Cornell U.) Then wanted to get outside – so started doing research as an environmental toxicologist – studying PCBs and dioxins and other “legacy” pollutants.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I graduated in 1988. So it’s been a long while. A few years out of grad school I got married to another PhD and then a few years after that we had kids. When that happened I decided I wanted to work part time when the kids were young – and got hooked on that too! I wanted to be around at home while they were home. So made a career path that suited that part-time situation. My husband/partner fortunately got a steady job with USGS which helped me to be more flexible. I’ve done lots of things from field research, teaching at Mount Holyoke College (as a visiting faculty), consulting for EPA, and for NOAA on environmental topics and a project on nanotoxicology and most recently writing books.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
I guess I am thinking all science all the time. I am a science junkie. I read Science (AAAS Magazine) in the morning at breakfast; or Science News. And am constantly amazed at the breadth of research and then on some level how it is all connected or could be. (Well, maybe not all but often far flung topics really do have some basic stuff in common and I guess I find that most interesting.) I don’t use much of my degree except when writing about that specific topic (mine was drug and chemical metabolism and a specific set of enzymes involved in detoxification – and so in one book I wrote there was a chapter on these enzymes. Was nice to “return” to them! But wow in the past 25 years the field exploded! Also I use the skills or whatever it was that I learned writing the introduction to my dissertation. When you do that you do a big literature search and synthesis. You put it together. And that is what I do all the time now (and did as a consultant as well.) Really dig into a topic and try to think about it in a different way or put it in a different context or just how it all fits together. And finally, as I’ve been writing books, having a PhD helps open doors. To publishers, to people I want to interview etc.
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?
No. Maybe I as fortunate but like I said it never occurred to me that there was an issue with women in science. Although in grad school and beyond, most of my interactions with advisers were male. But they were very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, even when it came to working part time. That said, I did feel discrimination against people (women or men) who want to do their science part-time for family or life-balance reasons. This is too bad. Because I think people who devote part of their work time to things other than science can bring those experiences back to science in many ways. Making a more complete scientific community. (This isn't to say that those who work full time don’t – but it is different I think when you devote a good portion of your time to something else – even if it is family or whatever.)
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?
Right now I am writing (another book.) The best part is getting to read about whatever I think is interesting and following up on that. The downside is before I really get going sometimes its overwhelming or too much new information! On a day to day I am reading and writing. My favorite part is when it all comes together and I see how it fits together and the writing seems easy (that isn't always the case.) And I interview other scientists – that is a little daunting; but after I love working their words into the writing. It’s like putting together a puzzle.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
See above. I made a choice. I don’t think I would do any differently although perhaps if there had been part-time faculty positions back then (there were not, but there are some now) I would have tried for one of those. But right now I am happy with the career path. It is not something I could have done without a great partner/husband who has a job he really likes; because I am not always making a lot of money. That is one downside to writing or even working part time. It would be very difficult to make a living that way (I did just fine before going part-time as far as that goes – but if I was single I don’t think I would have gone the part-time option as I did. But you never know.)
7. What do you define success as?
Having a feeling of contributing to something larger. I have struggled with this because so often success is equated with making money. I don’t make a whole lot. So hopefully whatever I produce is a contribution to science in some way. If it is, then it was successful.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Hmmm one? Persistence. (And flexibility!) Are those opposites?
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?
See above (first paragraph.) Also my dad, who was not a scientist but I think he wished he had been. He always encouraged me to write. I of course as his kid never took his advice. Until much much later!
10. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Great question. Have confidence in your abilities. And one more that I got from a few older women scientists – your career hopefully will be long – so be patient. You may not be able to do everything all at once. But in time you can get there.
I grew up in Newton Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. I was the kid catching grasshoppers and putting them in jars. Although I also used to play “Mad Scientist” mixing up those cleaning products my mom kept under the sink (NOT a good idea!) and try to poison those earwig bugs that seemed to ooze out of the play structures cracks! Ever since taking biology with Ms Leary (who seemed so cool and had a little monkey at home – she’d show us photos) and then Mr. Gottlieb in high school – I loved biology! I majored in bio in college (was never any question there) and had another great advisor Barb Boyer. She had kids that she’d talk about; and did cool stuff, like run the marine biology class where we stayed on an island in New Hampshire for two weeks doing field work. So all in all I was having a really positive biology experience and there were women – so the “women in science” never entered my mind as being something different or difficult. It was natural. Went from there to graduate school. I knew I wanted to something health and environment related didn’t know what. When I discovered toxicology, I was just hooked. Back then there weren’t all the CSI shows and other stuff about toxicology and there weren’t many graduate programs in the field either. Got a PhD in Biochemical toxicology (pharmacology really at that time, was the department I was in at Cornell U.) Then wanted to get outside – so started doing research as an environmental toxicologist – studying PCBs and dioxins and other “legacy” pollutants.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I graduated in 1988. So it’s been a long while. A few years out of grad school I got married to another PhD and then a few years after that we had kids. When that happened I decided I wanted to work part time when the kids were young – and got hooked on that too! I wanted to be around at home while they were home. So made a career path that suited that part-time situation. My husband/partner fortunately got a steady job with USGS which helped me to be more flexible. I’ve done lots of things from field research, teaching at Mount Holyoke College (as a visiting faculty), consulting for EPA, and for NOAA on environmental topics and a project on nanotoxicology and most recently writing books.
3. How does STEM relate to your job?How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
I guess I am thinking all science all the time. I am a science junkie. I read Science (AAAS Magazine) in the morning at breakfast; or Science News. And am constantly amazed at the breadth of research and then on some level how it is all connected or could be. (Well, maybe not all but often far flung topics really do have some basic stuff in common and I guess I find that most interesting.) I don’t use much of my degree except when writing about that specific topic (mine was drug and chemical metabolism and a specific set of enzymes involved in detoxification – and so in one book I wrote there was a chapter on these enzymes. Was nice to “return” to them! But wow in the past 25 years the field exploded! Also I use the skills or whatever it was that I learned writing the introduction to my dissertation. When you do that you do a big literature search and synthesis. You put it together. And that is what I do all the time now (and did as a consultant as well.) Really dig into a topic and try to think about it in a different way or put it in a different context or just how it all fits together. And finally, as I’ve been writing books, having a PhD helps open doors. To publishers, to people I want to interview etc.
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?
No. Maybe I as fortunate but like I said it never occurred to me that there was an issue with women in science. Although in grad school and beyond, most of my interactions with advisers were male. But they were very supportive of whatever I wanted to do, even when it came to working part time. That said, I did feel discrimination against people (women or men) who want to do their science part-time for family or life-balance reasons. This is too bad. Because I think people who devote part of their work time to things other than science can bring those experiences back to science in many ways. Making a more complete scientific community. (This isn't to say that those who work full time don’t – but it is different I think when you devote a good portion of your time to something else – even if it is family or whatever.)
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?
Right now I am writing (another book.) The best part is getting to read about whatever I think is interesting and following up on that. The downside is before I really get going sometimes its overwhelming or too much new information! On a day to day I am reading and writing. My favorite part is when it all comes together and I see how it fits together and the writing seems easy (that isn't always the case.) And I interview other scientists – that is a little daunting; but after I love working their words into the writing. It’s like putting together a puzzle.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
See above. I made a choice. I don’t think I would do any differently although perhaps if there had been part-time faculty positions back then (there were not, but there are some now) I would have tried for one of those. But right now I am happy with the career path. It is not something I could have done without a great partner/husband who has a job he really likes; because I am not always making a lot of money. That is one downside to writing or even working part time. It would be very difficult to make a living that way (I did just fine before going part-time as far as that goes – but if I was single I don’t think I would have gone the part-time option as I did. But you never know.)
7. What do you define success as?
Having a feeling of contributing to something larger. I have struggled with this because so often success is equated with making money. I don’t make a whole lot. So hopefully whatever I produce is a contribution to science in some way. If it is, then it was successful.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Hmmm one? Persistence. (And flexibility!) Are those opposites?
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?
See above (first paragraph.) Also my dad, who was not a scientist but I think he wished he had been. He always encouraged me to write. I of course as his kid never took his advice. Until much much later!
10. What do you think is the best advice you've ever received ? What advice would you give your younger self if you had the chance? What’s one piece of advice you can pass on to us?
Great question. Have confidence in your abilities. And one more that I got from a few older women scientists – your career hopefully will be long – so be patient. You may not be able to do everything all at once. But in time you can get there.