Scientess Trailer

Welcome to Scientess, a podcast for women about the joy of science, and why women might want to consider a career in science. I’m your host, Karen Levy. I am a Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health. On the show, I’ll be talking to women with successful careers in science about how they did it, why they did it, and what they love about the work that they do. I’m excited to share with you the stories of these incredible women. 

The first episode of Season 1 drops on April 6, 2026, and episodes will be posted weekly after that.

Transcript

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Welcome to Scientess, a podcast for women about the joy of science and why women might want to consider a career in science. I'm your host, Karen Levy. I'm a Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health. On the show, I'll be talking to women with successful careers in science about how they did it, why they did it, and what they love about the work they do. I'm excited to share with you the stories of these incredible women. So what's the first thing that you think of when the topic of women in science comes up? The answer is often one of the many barriers to success that women face in STEM fields. Sexual harassment in the workplace, implicit bias, getting paid less than colleagues, not having the respect of peers, not getting cited as much as male colleagues. There's never a good time to have a baby. These challenges are all real and it is important to recognize and discuss them, and yet when we focus on the challenges and publicly air these grievances, it can be demotivating to promising young women considering pursuing a career in science. On the Scientess podcast, instead of focusing on the issues that keep women from going into scientific careers, we will talk about what makes women wake up in the morning and head into the field or into the lab to make discoveries. The motivation for this podcast stems from my own personal experiences. I was lucky to have a mother who was a scientist who encouraged me to follow my passions and loved her research. Growing up, I did not feel a sense of limitation of what I could aim for or accomplish. Most of the trainees that I encounter do not have the benefit of that upbringing, unfortunately, and I'm eager to find a way to provide broader access to the kinds of messaging that I had as a child. Many successful women can point to one or more mentors who inspired them to pursue their interests, believed in them, and or help them advance their careers. Yet not everyone has access to such a mentor. By sharing their success stories. The woman featured on The Scientess Podcast will serve as mentors for a broad audience, showing the many, many different paths to a career in science. I had a transformative conversation immediately after finishing my PhD. I knew I wanted to have a family, and the narrative among my peers at the time was that it would be enormously challenging to have an academic career and have a family. Around that time, I had a chance conversation with Pat Conrad, a full professor at UC Davis, with a successful career as a parasitologist. We'll be hearing from her in Season 1. Pat was a single mom who raised two sons, both studying at Stanford at the time. I couldn't fathom how she could have been so successful at both her academic career and raising a family as a single mom. I asked her how she did it, and she looked at me incredulously, "Are you kidding me? She said, this is the best possible job for raising a family. You can work whenever you want. You can take time whenever you want. You have total autonomy. Even though I grew up with a mom who was a scientist, part of her story was also that she had to make some major career compromises to make things work out. Pat was telling me that it was not only possible, but it was an advantage to be a mother while having a career in science. The conversation really flipped the script for me and was a game changer for my perspective on my career as I started my first position as an Assistant Professor. This is an example of a story that changed my outlook. What other stories are female scientists waiting to tell that might inspire a young woman to pursue a career in science? Tune in to Scientess available wherever you get your podcasts, to find out. You can also find additional bonus content on our website, www.Scientess.org on LinkedIn and on Instagram with the tag @Scientesspodcast. That's S-C-I-E-N-T-E-S-S. Finally, I should note that this podcast operates independently from my teaching and research roles at University of Washington. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Washington. My hope is that Scientess will show aspiring young female scientists that a career in science is not only possible, but can also be extremely rewarding and a whole lot of fun.