International Day of Women & Girls in Science

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is implemented annually by the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and UN women to recognise the important role women and girls play in science and technology.

To celebrate this day at Pembroke, we reached out to Dr Lois Brand, Stipendiary Lecturer in Medicine and Lead for the College’s Clinical Course, and to our current JCR President and Biochemistry Undergraduate, Rhiannon Durant, to learn about their experiences in their respective fields and why they enjoy their subjects. We also asked them to share advice for girls and women hoping to start a career in STEM.

Rhiannon Durant (2020, MBiochem Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry)

“I’m a second year Biochemistry undergrad at Pembroke College. I love biochemistry because it lets me appreciate the beauty of living things, while also satisfying my desire to boil things down to their fundamentals. For example, Biochemistry allows you to marvel at the elegance with which a leaf derives its energy from sunlight, while also analysing the redox reactions in the photosynthetic electron transport chain that harness that energy.

If I have any advice for girls thinking about applying for STEM at Oxford, it’s that (as someone famous once said) 90% of success is showing up. Many things are mostly a roll of the dice- but if you never try, you’ll never know! It is a gross generalisation but I do think sometimes us girls are more risk averse. We’re less likely to roll that dice because we think mostly about the possibility of failure rather than the chance of success.

The best way to reframe that is to see successful outcomes as an added bonus. If things don’t work out, you should feel proud for trying. Plus, you often learn loads in the process, from a new skill to something about your personality. So go for it! Sign up for that science competition, answer that difficult question in class, send in that UCAS application- there are no downsides, only upsides.”

Rhiannon will be hosting a Instagram Story Takeover on our page on the 11th February. She will be taking us through her day and answering questions about her course. Make sure to tune in.

Dr Lois Brand (Associate Director of Clinical Studies on the clinical course at Oxford and lead on pastoral care)

“I organise the teaching for the clinical medical students at Pembroke with a wonderful group of clinical tutors.  Most of the clinical teaching is delivered centrally in the hospitals and GP surgeries but the additional tutorials we offer are a great way to supplement the clinical experience.

In the medical school I am an Associate Director of Clinical Studies and have responsibility for the pastoral care of the clinical students. It’s a rewarding job and a real privilege to work closely with students, supporting them when they’re facing challenges and set-backs. I’m also an emergency physician and work part-time in the Oxford University Hospitals Emergency Department. Emergency Medicine is a dynamic and fast-paced specialty, demanding an ability to keep calm under pressure, lead teams caring for critically ill patients and make rapid decisions. I love my work, most especially the variety of people that I meet and work with every day.

One of the great things about medicine is the breadth of career options it presents, offering the opportunity to craft a career which fully utilises your talents. Medicine is in short an intellectually stimulating, immensely challenging and hugely rewarding career.”