Winner of notable research award discusses inclusion, diversity in laboratory environments
Sara Ranjbar, PhD, winner of the Mayo Clinic’s 2021 Edward C. Kendall Alumni Award for Meritorious Research, has always known she wanted a job that would enable her to help patients and be of service to others.
Today, she has a job that includes all these responsibilities — plus plenty of math.
“By the end of my PhD, I found out about the research that was being done in the mathematical neuro-oncology lab at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, where mathematical approaches are used for designing personalized treatment for glioblastoma, a highly invasive and heterogenous type of brain tumor,” Ranjbar, a post doctoral research fellow at Mayo Clinic, said in an interview with Healio. “I found the research really exciting and found the lab to be a great place for me to learn about oncology and apply my computational skillsets in machine learning and data science to the betterment of patients with brain tumors.”
Even as she continues to defy persistent stereotypes about women in math-intensive fields, Ranjbar recognizes the need for greater parity for all health care professionals from historically underrepresented groups.
“If you are in the minority, find out what diversity and inclusion resources exist in your institution,” she said. “Most institutions have resources or groups that are formed around common dimensions of diversity — including sex, disability or race — to break down barriers.”
Meritorious research
Originally, Ranjbar’s interest in math and engineering led her to pursue biomedical engineering. However, the promise of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) also interested Ranjbar, and she eventually changed her focus to biomedical informatics.
Ranjbar’s glioblastoma research at Mayo Clinic fulfills her passion for helping patients while also allowing her to work with mathematics, machine learning and AI.
“In the past 4 years, I have designed prototype models and implemented several AI models to promote brain tumor research,” Ranjbar said. “The applications include reliable labeling of MRI image types, brain extraction, tumor segmentation, simulation of MRIs across MRI types to fill in missing data in retrospective datasets, and prediction of spatial abundance of key treatment-related markers across tumors.”
It was these efforts that led Ranjbar to be awarded the Edward C. Kendall Alumni Award for Meritorious Research. The award, which is given annually to an accomplished research fellow across the Mayo Clinic enterprise, confirmed to Ranjbar that she had chosen the right career path.
“It is an honor to have been recognized for my work, and it certainly encourages me to do more,” she said.
‘A network of support’
Ranjbar acknowledged that the workplace presents challenges for all clinicians and researchers but added that these obstacles tend to be particularly daunting for women. Navigating issues like parental leave, academic advancement, study authorship and income disparities can feel like an uphill battle. However, Ranjbar said one of the keys to surmounting these challenges is for women to join forces and support each other. She said she is grateful for the mentors who have helped her and hopes to clear the way for new female trainees.
“I have been fortunate to be part of a lab that that is led by fierce women leaders at the Mayo Clinic; the majority of our group are actually women who are very supportive of each other,” she said. “I have learned a lot from them and am committed to creating an inclusive, safe and supportive environment for future trainees from all backgrounds when I run my own research lab in the future.”
She encouraged new trainees entering clinician or research jobs to make connections and maintain communication with other women in the workplace. Sometimes, just knowing that other women share these struggles can be a source of comfort and confidence.
“A lot of us have learned to think that these barriers are specific to us,” she said. “Impostor syndrome is very prevalent among women. I would recommend reaching out to others, talking to other women in the field about their journey, and creating a network.”
Ranjbar added that trainees or employees from any minority group should avail themselves of their workplace’s resources devoted to inclusion and diversity.
“Most institutions have resources or groups that are formed around common dimensions of diversity, including sex, disability or race to break down barriers,” she told Healio. “I have found joining these groups to be helpful. It is a great place to meet people, hear their stories, learn and create a network of support.”
For more information:
Sara Ranjbar, PhD, can be reached at ranjbar.sara@mayo.edu.
Collapse
Healio Interviews