Interview with Women in Science: Meet Chelsea Marcho
This International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we interviewed six women in science from the United States Agency for International Development to discover their journeys in this field. Meet Chelsea Marcho and learn more about her experience and advice for the next generation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Can you give us a brief introduction about yourself?
I am an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow in the United States Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Food Security. I completed my bachelor’s degree in biology and my doctoral degree in molecular and cellular biology. My research focused on mammalian embryonic development, specifically how a single-celled embryo can go on to make all the distinct cell types of a body, even though all cells have the same DNA (it’s epigenetics!). My collaborative research efforts during my doctoral and postdoctoral training inspired me to pursue a science fellowship in the federal government. I wanted to work with scientists and nonscientists from different backgrounds to collaboratively solve complex problems. While I was originally expecting to be placed in either the National Science Foundation (NSF) or the National Institutes of Health (NIH) based on my scientific background, I accepted a placement at USAID. I chose this Agency because of the unique scientific perspectives I could gain and the impactful work I could do with my specific background.
How did you get into STEM and into your line of work specifically?
A: I grew up in a rural part of Pennsylvania where my exposure to a formal science education was relatively limited at a young age, so much so that I wasn’t even aware of my budding interest in science. As a child, I selectively bred pigeons and wrote down my observations of their varying phenotypes, such as feather color and pattern. With my careful breeding, I was able to achieve my goal of obtaining all-white birds. I also grew plants while varying their environmental conditions (such as temperature, sunlight, water, and soil) to see what would happen. I didn’t realize that I was conducting scientific experiments for fun! At the time, I actually thought that science — as I understood it — was boring.
This changed in high school when I had the opportunity to take higher-level science courses. My teachers helped me realize that science was an incredible and vast subject, which sparked my interest in studying biology. I further developed my interest in research during my undergraduate years with the help of my professors who shared their research experiences with me and gave me opportunities to work in their labs.
What do you see as some of the most exciting projects, innovations and initiatives in your career field in the next few years?
A: In my scientific field, I think that the most exciting projects are taking place in the rapid and innovative technical developments around genome sequencing, genome editing, and computational analysis of big datasets. These advances are leading to higher impact, collaborative projects at the national and international scale across multiple fields of science. At USAID, I am excited to be helping on work around crop innovation. We work with a diverse team of experts in order to facilitate the generation and use of better, more resilient crops that have the potential to address world hunger and economic growth. Such collaborative efforts are changing the questions that people around the world are asking in fundamental ways.
What advice do you have for young girls who want to pursue STEM?
A: I personally had a hard time feeling a sense of belonging at the start of my formal STEM education. Oftentimes, I felt like the least knowledgeable person in the room. It took awhile for me to get used to that feeling and to learn how to lean into the discomfort by realizing that there is so much value that comes from women and girls being represented in the room. My big takeaway from these experiences and my advice to others is that it is so important to recognize that you may feel like you don’t belong, and that is normal, but it doesn’t mean that you don’t belong. It took me a lot of practice and reminding myself that I am a scientist to build my confidence and address my imposter syndrome. While it may be intimidating to learn how to navigate the culture of science, overcoming this allows you to find your purpose and recognize your skills and contributions, which will help you embrace the discomfort of not knowing everything. Once I did that, I felt free to take on more chances.
Who was your most notable woman mentor and why?
A: Most of my influential research advisors and mentors were men, but there have been many supportive women in my life who have shaped my personal and career growth. Personally, seeing how the women in my life handled themselves in tough situations and modeled independence, strength, and the confidence to speak up was inspiring and something I have tried to emulate in my life. My mother is a good example of this. My family owns an automotive store in rural Pennsylvania, and my mom constantly challenging and pushing back on the stereotype that women don’t know anything about cars.
As someone who has recognized the importance of uplifting other women and girls in STEM, I feel passionate about making science more accessible and approachable. As scientists, we need to give more thought to how we communicate and engage non-technical people and remind them that scientists are normal people too (for example, I coached girls basketball while doing my doctoral degree). Better science communication is important both among scientists from different fields and between the scientific community and the world. I experienced this volunteering in 5th grade classrooms as a graduate student. We would teach students about basic genetic concepts, as well as discuss evolution, embryonic development, and GMOs. To demonstrate that our food has genes, we would help them extract DNA from strawberries. Seeing how excited kids can be about science and challenging scientists to explain their work in ways that others can understand and be engaged is critical to helping future generations of pursue their path in STEM.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the interviewees and do not reflect the official policy or position of the initiative.
