Faculty of Science researcher profiled in Canadian Science Publishing

Dr. Andrea Kirkwood, Associate Professor, Faculty of Science at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT), was recently featured in a Canadian Science Publishing (CSP) blog post, the first in a series about Canadian women in science. The post talks about Dr. Kirkwood’s personal experiences, and explored the factors that can help or hinder a woman’s science career.

Dr. Kirkwood provided girls who are interested in pursuing a career in science with the following advice:

• Deal with imposter syndrome (fear and doubt about one’s own ability to succeed) by challenging yourself to fail, and accepting that failure.
• Don’t be discouraged by low grades in math-related courses.
• Be prepared to put in the necessary hard work to become an expert, not just someone who’s interested in a topic.
• Be passionate about your research topic; it will help motivate you to get over the rough spots during your career and keep you open to alternative career paths when unexpected things happen.