Represent!

Last week, Kiran, I, and another postdoc (Heidi) from Fred Hutch made an outreach excursion to Western Washington University in Bellingham to talk about our research and career paths. The two-hour session was part of a class in bioinformatics, but students in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science were attending as well. The whole event was incredibly fun and uplifting, and as we drove back to Seattle afterwards the three of us talked a lot about how impressed we were of the students' interest in our research and the many clever questions they came up with during the discussion that followed. The fact that we were an all-female panel of scientists added to the feeling of accomplishment.

This morning when I got to work an email with comments from the organizer had landed in my inbox, and I would like to share some of what he wrote:

”I asked my Bioinformatics class today what they thought of the event yesterday. Students said it was “absolutely fascinating” to see what you’re all working on. [...] Even the students who were quiet during your talks and the Q&A session had wonderful things to say about the visit and were very specific when I asked them what they took away from the talks (they referred to things such as [...] “don’t be afraid to ask questions” [...] “even the experts don’t know everything”, etc). And in today’s student-led class discussion about protein classification and protein engineering there were four references to your talks yesterday! [...] Way to make an impact!!”

I got all warm and fuzzy inside already by that first paragraph, but there was more to come:

”Two of the BioChem majors [...] said this is the first time they’ve seen a talk by female researchers! [...] they said that all of the colloquia presentations they’ve attended at Western were given by men and they said that almost all of the questions at those talks were asked by male professors. They said that your comments about asking questions gave them a little boost of confidence and resulted in each of them asking a couple questions yesterday. I can guarantee you that your visit made an impact and will stick with all of the students for a long time but with these two students especially.”

At first, I just felt incredibly proud and happy to have contributed to inspiring these two girls, by demonstrating that female researchers are just as able and professional as their male colleagues. Way to go!

...but then it dawned on me how depressing their statements really were, and my heart sunk.

Not once had they had a woman present her research to them.

Not. Once.

Coincidentally, I happened to come across this article a few hours later, reporting the results of a recent European study, which revealed that among over 1100 people (including scientists), 25 percent could not name a single famous female scientist. Well, no wonder! If 21st century university students still hardly get to interact with, or even see, women in research, then how on earth will we ever make ourselves known?

I could go on and on about how infuriating and unfair this is, and how frustrated I get when people refuse to see the structural inequalities that are dangling right in front of their noses, but it is late and I need to get up early tomorrow morning to prepare for an imaging study that will keep me busy until almost midnight.

That is my job; this is what I do. I work hard, and I want to be credited accordingly in the end, regardless of what chromosomes I happen to have been born with.

For all the future Marie Curies, Ada Lovelaces, Lise Meitners, Émilie du Châtelets, Ada Yonaths, and Linda Bucks: ladies, we have to make ourselves seen and heard. No one is going to do the work for us; it's up to us to demonstrate that science has no gender, nor has brilliance. So get out there and represent! I sure will.

(But first: sleep.)

Red, white and blue: same same but different

May 17th - syttende mai! Or as the Americans pronounce it: [Soot-n-duh My]. On Norway's Constitution Day, Ballard is always the place to be.

To be honest, I didn't quite know what to expect as I headed for the festivities but I was surely not disappointed by the enthusiasm. In no time, I was completely surrounded by lusekofte cardigans, folk costumes, viking helmets, braids, and flags flags FLAGS. Simply put, there was nothing else to do but join the merry crowd. The highlight of the day was a seemingly endless parade featuring marching bands, drill teams, cheerleaders, cross country skiers and various community groups, not to mention a surprisingly large population of children on unicycles (seriously, they just kept coming!).

The Seattle police started the parade with some pretty impressive motorcycle riding in formation.

Apparently, the trumpeters needed some extra hydration in the sunny weather. Nice touch with the spray bottle, lady!

For those of you who have seen Trolljegeren, need I say more than ”Norge har troll”...?

The first batch of I don't know how many unicycle kids; impressive, yet somewhat odd.

BATLA...? Uff da! Fun detail: the little tractor that pulled the wagons was a Björn Deere.

Sweden was also represented, here and there.

In the midst of all the cheers and ”hipp, hipp hurra!”, I surprised myself by feeling a little jealous of the Norwegian community and their strong sense of togetherness, regardless of their whereabouts. I want to belong somewhere too, but right now I'm not really sure of where home is. Ah, well. Perhaps it's just an effect of the good ol' homesickness that always comes creeping up as I get ready for another trip to Sweden. (Five days and counting...!)

PS. For those with a berserk hangover, Leif Erikson Lodge seems to provide a reasonable cure: bingo + spaghetti. How very... Norwegian.

(Oh, Americans.)

Saturday (and Sunday) in Friday Harbor

My brain is mush, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves as I try to convey some of last weekend's awesomeness. A few words of explanation might be needed, though: early Saturday morning, Lia picked me up in her truck and drove the two of us to Anacortes to take the morning ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. Once there, we met up with Lia's adorable friend Meegan and went whale watching with her colleagues Nan and Captain Pete on Western Prince II.

Luck was on our side; we spotted no less than five orcas (including one baby!), a bunch of harbor seals, harbor porpoises, cormorants, a pigeon guillemot, and a bald eagle. Fabulous!

The rest of our stay on the island was equally wonderful; food, wine, coffee, ice cream... Watching the sun set at a bonfire party on South Beach; hiking through the forest in search of a hidden mausoleum; cuddling with Meegan's adorably grumpy-looking (but incredibly friendly) Persian. Having a great time, simply put!

The following photos from our orca watching trip were captured by Nan on the Western Prince II. The shaky little movie is all mine, however. Mine! (I know, I know... I won't quit my day job.)

Ladies in shades.

Bellas!

Hiking.

South Beach.

Lia and Meegan, thank you! Thank you ever so much.

(You expect me to do what? With that ...thing? Think again, sister.)

An apology for my mother

Mum, I am so sorry. Apparently, I completely dropped the ball on Mother's Day last year... There's really nothing I can say in my defense; I just have to make sure that this time you'll get prunes.

Happy (American) Mother's Day, all ye mothers, mums, moms, and mammor out there! You kick ass.

Kickin' it with Kicki

Last week, Seattle was all flirty and inviting, with summer sun and warm winds flabbergasting the natives. Why this sudden come-hitherness? one might ask. Because I had another friend over from Sweden, of course! (Apparently, that's how this city reacts to Scandinavians. I guess that explains Ballard.)

My dear old friend Kristin took a week off from being a responsible parent and flew overseas to enjoy the carefree life of a tourist, covering basically all the must-see attractions, Seattle's sweetest treats, and copious amounts of creamy cappuccinos. But it wasn't just her that got some well-deserved vacation; I took a couple of days off as well. Among other things, the two of us had the pleasure of enjoying lunch at Snoqualmie Falls with Amanda and little Aiden, explored Pike Place Market, and took the water taxi to Alki beach before hunting for ghosts around Pioneer Square.

 

As you must know by now, no Seattle trip is complete without a crazy evening on Capitol Hill. Like always, it was a success; any night that starts with craft cocktails at Tavern Law and ends with good friends (old ones / new ones / strangers) singing karaoke together like there's no tomorrow can only be described as very, very memorable.

As I hugged Kicki farewell at the airport yesterday morning I realized that in just three weeks' time it's my turn to pack my passport and steer my steps towards the security check at Seatac, flying East.

Three weeks. The joy!

Bunnies and boating

Easter came and went. Fremont paid its respects the way you'd expect: with bunnies.

I myself kept it low key, spending Saturday running errands and cleaning my apartment before eventually curling up in my armchair with season one of The Walking Dead on DVD and a reasonable amount of Easter candy. Nice and quiet, albeit perhaps not the most exhilarating.

Easter Day offered more excitement as I got to visit one of Lake Union's amazing houseboats (finally!) and then cruise the lake and Lake Washington Ship Canal in a turquoise little vessel, accompanied by the lovely naiad Lia. A wonderful Sunday afternoon and evening.

Bye! (Hey bunnies, cheer up.)

'Sup?

It's been more quiet here than usual lately, and you might wonder what I'm up to when I'm not blogging, i.e. about 98.7% of my waking hours. Well, I'm writing. I've been working quite hard to wrap up a scientific manuscript; my first as main author since starting in the Press Lab. It's been quite stressful at times, but I think it'll turn out rather well in the end. In addition, I've been doing a fair amount of reading and writing for a number of "extracurricular" projects I'm engaged in, at the Hutch and at Bio Ventures for Global Health, which is a non-profit organization I'm volunteering for on my spare time. In case you didn't know: I have a tendency to keep myself busy.

I've managed to do some traveling too; two weeks ago I went to St. Louis, MO, as a representative for the Fred Hutch postdocs at the National Postdoctoral Association 2014 Annual Meeting. It was intense, starting just a couple of hours after my arrival when a tornado hit the city. After that, the drama subsided but the pace was kept high with seminars, workshops, networking sessions, and social events for three days. A word of advice: if you happen to be in the area, go to City Museum; the craziest place I've ever visited.

Fun fact: in June I'll revisit this city to present my research at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. A little weird though; what's up with all the Annual Meetings, St. Louis?

Mainly Manuel Antonio

Enough with the silent treatment; let's wrap up the Costa Rica story once and for all. From Nosara we drove towards San José once more, to drop off the little one (Pedro) at the airport. Unfortunately, the three-hour drive included an almost four-hour standstill as some fishermen had decided that this particular day was a terrific day for a strike, completely blocking the main artery that Costa Rican traffic depends upon. Consequently, the four of us reached our destination about eight hours after leaving the beach. Fun for the whole family! It's marvellous how everything in this country is just three hours away by car! Marvellous.

Pedro obviously missed his flight, but got up before dawn and managed to get a seat the following day. David, Amelia, and I chilled out in the city, running errands, doing laundry, shopping and being touristy. And we had chocobananas! A lovely kids' treat made by freezing a banana, putting it on a stick, dipping it in chocolate and covering it with crushed peanuts. It looked like crap (literally) but I can certainly recommend it. If nothing else, you'll get a good laugh.

The next day, Amelia and I left David behind and went to Quepos in the province of Puntarenas. This time we decided not to venture on another alleged three-hour road trip and instead boarded a tiny airplane and swoosh! landed at our destination 30 minutes later. Nature, I'm sorry! Like, super sorry.

Ok, bygones; from Quepos we took a shuttle to Manuel Antonio, checked in at a cute hotel by the beach and hopped on a huge boat and spent the afternoon snorkeling, swimming, watching dolphins, having drinks, eating fruit, going down waterslides, socializing, and just generally having a blast.

Those red things? Life vests. We had to wear them like that to be allowed to snorkel close to the "sharp rocks". Sigh. Fortunately, these merbabes can make anything look good.

However, the main attraction was Manuel Antonio National Park, listed by Forbes as one of the world's twelve most beautiful national parks. When David joined us the following day the three of us headed out on a guided tour and spent a couple of hours in the heat walking through the lush, green paradise. It was great, but honestly, without a guide I don't think we would have seen almost any animals. Well, monkeys. Monkeys were everywhere, but the rest were very good at hiding. And to all of you who have asked me, I would like to finally say yes, WE SAW SLOTHS! Both three-toed and two-toed, one even cuddling with a baby. That's right: A BABY SLOTH. Admittedly, they were all hanging out high up in the tree tops, and even though we watched them through a spotting scope it was sometimes tricky to see more than just a big, hairy, greyish lump. But they were sloth lumps! YAY!

This photo was taken through the scope. Hello cutie!

What else did we see? I actually took notes.

• Gladiator tree frog
• Jesus Christ lizards (sic)
• Giant green anole
• Eyelash pit viper
• Squirrel monkeys
• White-faced monkeys
• Black river turtle
• Mexican hairy porcupine
• Black-tailed iguana
• Agoutis
• Blue morpho menelaus butterfly
• White ibis
• Hermit crabs
• Long-nosed bats
• Brown pelicans

Naturally, we did lots of other things during our last days in the country; had fabulous meals at lovely cafés (Milagro!), met interesting people, and enjoyed ourselves immensely. But this story has to end somewhere, and I decide this is the place.

My conclusion after all this: if you ever get the chance to go to Costa Rica, do it. Ok? Ok. Also, don't trust your GPS when it says that your destination is just about three hours away.

It's all over now, Baby Blue

Dearest Bike,

It's time to part ways. Your owner has returned to Seattle and I must let you go, no matter how much it pains me. Let's cherish the memories of time spent together; the rides, the runs, the races. The rolling hills and jolly thrills. The sun and the rain. The moon.

My darling Baby Blue. Remember me.

S.

El Rojo Adios feat. Andreas Söderström & Titiyo - Baby Blue

Surfin' birds and nesting dinosaurs

Our first stay in San José was very brief, to say the least. We spent the night at David's house, after having dinner and partying with his brother, sister, and friends. The next day we took off again, back to the beautiful beaches of Guanacaste. The aim was set for Nosara, just a three-hour drive from San José.

We arrived about five hours later and checked in at a hotel with a fabulous view. Pedro and I spent the late afternoon on the beach; him surfing and me reading. The waves there were something else, compared with the calm waters in Tamarindo... They looked absolutely frightening to me but it was wonderful just hanging out at the beach, watching the surfers show off their talents.

The next morning, Amelia and I took a hike on the beach and in the forest surrounding the hotel while the boys hit the waves again. They picked us up around noon and the four of us had lunch (and dessert, importantly) at Robin's Cafe & Ice Cream: a fabulous place specializing in vegetarian and vegan wholesome grub, not to mention delicious homemade ice cream. I never wanted to leave... Completely smitten! The rest of the day was equally fabulous; Amelia and I rented a couple of surfboards too, and built up the courage to attack the intimidating waves. And holy cow, was it fun! I was hurting all over afterwards; ribs beat, hips bruised, and knees scratched, but it was so worth it.

SLOTH! SLOTH! Wait... Why is it carrying a red bag...?

The evening was spent at Playa Ostional, watching sea turtles nest on the beach as the sun set. It was just one of those experiences that can't really be described. Seeing those ancient creatures emerge from the sea, lay their eggs in the sand, and then nobly return to the great blue was like seeing paleontology vivify in front of our eyes. Dinosaurs, basically. In the sunset. Words fail me... Photos are better.

This lovely lady was throwing a lot of sand my way, for instance in my face. I'm sure I deserved it.

Dig dig dig dig...

Bye, darlings!

Now what do we do? Back to San José! (It's just a three-hour drive.)