Inside Variant Bio: Highlighting the Work of Women in R&D
According to a 2023 report issued by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, the U.S. STEM workforce has become more diverse over the last decade, with increased numbers of women and underrepresented minorities. Even so, the report shows, women make up just a third (35%) of people employed in STEM occupations, and they are much more represented in some STEM fields than others. For example, women’s representation ranged from 61% of social and related scientists to only 16% of engineers.
At Variant Bio, women make up half of the company, and represent a wide range of STEM fields, from bioinformatics and biology to genetics, chemistry, and anthropology. Last year, in honor of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we highlighted the profiles of three women in leadership positions at Variant Bio. This year, we stepped into our lab in Seattle to talk to R&D team members Rachel Eguia, Carole Smith, and Leah Rommereim about their experiences as scientists, and what excites them most about their work in drug discovery and development.
Question: How did you decide to pursue a career in R&D?
Rachel: Since I was a kid I always had dreams of being in science and running my own little experiments testing all of my wacky hypotheses. After a lot of education and training, I began my career in molecular biology bench work. I started my career in academic science, but eventually branched out into industry R&D to take on new challenges and have the opportunity to develop new skill sets and experimental techniques.
Carole: By accident! My plan after college was to work for a couple of years in a lab before going back to school to become a high school science teacher. I quickly realized that I have an aptitude and passion for bench science and that I love planning and executing experiments.
Leah: I’ve always been fascinated by nature and had a deep interest in the unknown. As a child this manifested in exploration of the natural world around me at an organism level and now as an adult I do the same thing, but at a cellular/molecular level.
Question: Who was your role model as a scientist? Who has inspired you in this career path?
Rachel: An older cousin of mine worked at NASA as an engineer when I was growing up and 10-year-old me could not get over it. She made me believe I could “get out” like she had and pursue my passions. She now works for Boeing here in the Pacific Northwest and we get to see each other often and bond over our common journeys as women in science. I feel so lucky to have had her to look up to when I was young and dreaming big dreams.
Carole: I can’t identify a specific role model but there have been a number of influences on my career. I grew up in an agricultural community before the advent of the Internet and with limited travel opportunities but my family did have a subscription to National Geographic magazine that I would read from cover to cover every month. Every author or photographer who published in National Geographic when I was a kid influenced me by opening my eyes to the world and engaging my curiosity on a huge variety of topics. My high school biology and chemistry teachers were amazing-without their enthusiasm and dedication it’s doubtful I would have pursued a scientific degree. I have been fortunate to work with a large number of super smart and talented women scientists throughout my career. And importantly, my parents never once said to me that girls don’t do science, shouldn’t do science, or can’t do science.
Leah: I can’t think of one specific person, it’s more a collection of attributes that I’ve admired in those around me. I’ve always been inspired by scientists who are excited by their own work or who develop innovative solutions (technical or biological) to the problems that they are investigating. As I’ve developed in my career, I’ve also been inspired by people who ask really good questions that are thought-provoking for the whole group and help raise the level of discourse. Various members of the R&D team here at Variant Bio are great examples of this practice.
Question: How have you seen the field change for women since you first started your career as a scientist?
Rachel: I consider myself lucky to have started my career during a time where women in the sciences is normal, relative to what it’s been like historically. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work in academic labs and companies where a majority of the scientists are women. I thank them for their trailblazing and mentorship. I hope to inspire the next generation of women, especially women of color and women from underserved communities, to pursue education and science.
Carole: Seeing women scientists in senior management or executive positions was quite rare when I first started my career. Full gender equity in biotech leadership has not yet been achieved but it has definitely improved.
Leah: It has been very exciting to see more women in leadership positions in science, though there is still room for growth.
Question: What is an example of a major challenge you have encountered in your career as a scientist?
Rachel: Getting to a place where I could even have a career in science was a major challenge. As a Mexican-American woman in a working class family from a small town in rural Idaho, concepts like college and science were incredibly out of reach for me. I credit my early educational and scientific mentors for opening my eyes to the possibility of actually attending college and pursuing science while there. With their guidance and support, I became the first person in my family to graduate college… and the first to become a scientist :)
Carole: Discovery research is inherently a challenging process. I don’t think I realized that achieving good results often depends on the support and guidance one gets with in-person scientific interactions until COVID. Working in almost complete isolation in the lab during the pandemic was necessary from a public health perspective but for me it was really, really hard.
Leah: Struggling with imposter syndrome has been a continual challenge. Working in science it’s very easy to see the brilliance of others, how someone is always up to date on the literature or has great hands in the lab or always has a new publication being released. And it’s natural to fall into the trap of comparing your daily grind to someone else’s highlights. So learning how to give context to others’ successes as well as my own has been difficult, but I’m slowly getting better at seeing where I can shine. It also helps to have a great team to work with where you see success as a group effort, rather than individual.
Question: What excites you about your role at Variant Bio and what’s next?
Rachel: What excites me most about my role is the opportunity to learn. Being part of a small R&D team allows for exceptional opportunities for collaboration and mentorship. I feel like I learn something new, and grow as a scientist, every day.
Carole: Variant Bio’s ethics, approach, and commitment to benefit sharing with partner communities makes it an exciting place to work regardless of your individual role in the organization.
Leah: One of the cool things about my role at Variant Bio is that as part of assay development I get to contribute to multiple projects and work with multiple teams. So I have the privilege of doing exciting science with great people!
