Florencia Ardon
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 central Mexico. When I was very little, I wanted to be a vet, but didn’t like the clinical aspect, so ended up studying animal science. I was (and am) very much into genetics and reproduction. My first idea was to work in a farm, ended up working for a pig genetics company but discovered I wanted to do the research to improve animal production, instead of just transmitting the information… that’s when I went to grad school, 5 years after graduating from college.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I am a postdoctoral associate. In practical terms, that means I am considered able to plan and conduct research on my own, but cannot apply for grant by myself (unless they are small grants). My supervisor has been extremely helpful letting me plan not only my own research but that of several undergrad students who did or are doing their honors thesis with us. So on a regular basis I create protocols for different experiments, do all the background research to know what we want to explore and what is the best technique, conduct experiments myself and train/supervise other people’s experiments. I also present results, both in seminars and conferences as well as in scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Also, I am an ad-hoc reviewer for several of those journals, meaning that if somebody submits a paper in my area of expertise, I might get selected to review that paper. This can take hours or days, depending on how much I need to read to make sure they conducted the research properly and their results are OK.
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
I work in animal reproduction, basic research (we study the mechanisms of reproduction, which other people can then research to find the best use of our results on the field). My MS and PhD were in animal reproduction as well, and I also did another postdoc in a good lab that conducts very basic research. I use most of the information I learned in those three places all the time.
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?
In Mexico there’s no real discrimination in the sense of having women feel less intelligent than men. There is, however, about doing “manly” work. My mom was very concerned about me working with cows—she thought I could get hurt, and most of the people working in farms are men… she also didn't want me working with only men. There are challenges but I think those are common to all professions: many believe women are not as dedicated to their jobs and will drop them as soon as they have kids. My husband has been working from home and he is the one that receives the kids from school and who takes care of them if they get sick or school is not in session, etc. He has also been criticized for that; being a stay at home dad or working dad is seen as unmanly. I believe that for true equality, we must allow women to be active at a professional level and men to be active at home.
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: mentoring students, being able to do an experiment and have it work well. Some experiments take a looong time and you must be very patient—you won’t know if you made a huge mistake until several days later.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
My husband is really on board with the house & child care, and that’s a huge relief. Families work different… in my case, I try to travel infrequently (attend 1-2 conferences/year), and always be there in the morning to wake them up, and every night 6-8 for dinner, showers, etc. If I have to go back to the lab or meet friends I try to do it after my kids are in bed. Or I do reading and writing at home, after my kids are in bed. My husband also works after the kids are in bed. My husband and I also try to do stuff together, like watch a TV show or just talk at night. I guess it’s never perfect for anybody, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying.
7. What do you define success as?
Be satisfied/content with the progress you’re making every day in all aspects of your life. I think you should not consider a specific goal your mark of success, otherwise what will you do afterwards? I went to a talk given by an alpinist who had been to all the highest peaks, including Everest and he spoke about how hard it is to find your next goal when you’ve achieved all you were supposed to. It can be very depressing not having a goal anymore.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Perseverance.
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?
My MS and PhD advisor in Germany, and my postdoc supervisor here in the US are women, with kids and family. Seeing them be successful in both places and happy with their lives is a great example of what can be achieved.
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?
Follow your heart! It’s common to hear there are no jobs, or the positions there are don’t pay enough, etc. It’s never as hard as it seems at first. If you’re happy, you will do certain sacrifices that other people might think are too big, but they will seem worth it to you.
I grew up in central Mexico. When I was very little, I wanted to be a vet, but didn’t like the clinical aspect, so ended up studying animal science. I was (and am) very much into genetics and reproduction. My first idea was to work in a farm, ended up working for a pig genetics company but discovered I wanted to do the research to improve animal production, instead of just transmitting the information… that’s when I went to grad school, 5 years after graduating from college.
2. What exactly IS your job? What do you do on a day to day basis?
I am a postdoctoral associate. In practical terms, that means I am considered able to plan and conduct research on my own, but cannot apply for grant by myself (unless they are small grants). My supervisor has been extremely helpful letting me plan not only my own research but that of several undergrad students who did or are doing their honors thesis with us. So on a regular basis I create protocols for different experiments, do all the background research to know what we want to explore and what is the best technique, conduct experiments myself and train/supervise other people’s experiments. I also present results, both in seminars and conferences as well as in scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals. Also, I am an ad-hoc reviewer for several of those journals, meaning that if somebody submits a paper in my area of expertise, I might get selected to review that paper. This can take hours or days, depending on how much I need to read to make sure they conducted the research properly and their results are OK.
3. How does STEM relate to your job? How do you use the information you learned from your degree in your job?
I work in animal reproduction, basic research (we study the mechanisms of reproduction, which other people can then research to find the best use of our results on the field). My MS and PhD were in animal reproduction as well, and I also did another postdoc in a good lab that conducts very basic research. I use most of the information I learned in those three places all the time.
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?
In Mexico there’s no real discrimination in the sense of having women feel less intelligent than men. There is, however, about doing “manly” work. My mom was very concerned about me working with cows—she thought I could get hurt, and most of the people working in farms are men… she also didn't want me working with only men. There are challenges but I think those are common to all professions: many believe women are not as dedicated to their jobs and will drop them as soon as they have kids. My husband has been working from home and he is the one that receives the kids from school and who takes care of them if they get sick or school is not in session, etc. He has also been criticized for that; being a stay at home dad or working dad is seen as unmanly. I believe that for true equality, we must allow women to be active at a professional level and men to be active at home.
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: mentoring students, being able to do an experiment and have it work well. Some experiments take a looong time and you must be very patient—you won’t know if you made a huge mistake until several days later.
6. How do you balance your work and personal life? Any secrets or advice you’d like to share?
My husband is really on board with the house & child care, and that’s a huge relief. Families work different… in my case, I try to travel infrequently (attend 1-2 conferences/year), and always be there in the morning to wake them up, and every night 6-8 for dinner, showers, etc. If I have to go back to the lab or meet friends I try to do it after my kids are in bed. Or I do reading and writing at home, after my kids are in bed. My husband also works after the kids are in bed. My husband and I also try to do stuff together, like watch a TV show or just talk at night. I guess it’s never perfect for anybody, but that shouldn’t stop you from trying.
7. What do you define success as?
Be satisfied/content with the progress you’re making every day in all aspects of your life. I think you should not consider a specific goal your mark of success, otherwise what will you do afterwards? I went to a talk given by an alpinist who had been to all the highest peaks, including Everest and he spoke about how hard it is to find your next goal when you’ve achieved all you were supposed to. It can be very depressing not having a goal anymore.
8. What is one personality trait that you think is universally important for a successful career?
Perseverance.
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?
My MS and PhD advisor in Germany, and my postdoc supervisor here in the US are women, with kids and family. Seeing them be successful in both places and happy with their lives is a great example of what can be achieved.
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?
Follow your heart! It’s common to hear there are no jobs, or the positions there are don’t pay enough, etc. It’s never as hard as it seems at first. If you’re happy, you will do certain sacrifices that other people might think are too big, but they will seem worth it to you.
