Author: charunipathmeswaran

Adolescent mental health x digital intervention: Meet Savannah

By Charuni Pathmeswaran

Savannah Minihan is a Scientia PhD researcher exploring adolescent mental health and the development of novel digital prevention interventions. Savannah is an accomplished UNSW Woman in Maths and Science Champion and is keen to make an impactful change in the mental health space.

Can you briefly explain your current research?

My research broadly explores the cognitive, emotional, and social processes that influence mental health across the lifespan (particularly adolescent mental health). We use findings from this research to design novel mental health interventions. At the moment, we are developing a gamified cognitive training app, which we hope to get young people’s feedback on very soon.

What drew you to this field?

Psychology is such a diverse field. Working within psychology might involve working in a clinical practice environment, or it might involve working in a research team and conducting translational research to inform treatment practices, or even working within industry or government. I love that psychology can take me down diverse pathways and that it is a meaningful space to be in where I could make a difference.

What excites you most about your work?

I love the data analysis stage of my research. When you’ve gathered all your data from a research experiment and are finally able to look at your data and see what it is telling you. It’s quite exciting to see the results of your work and find something out for the first time. I also really love the translational aspects of my work – when you can see the direct impacts that it is having on other people. I find this really fulfilling.

What do you find most challenging about the work you do and how do you tackle it?

While data analysis is exciting, it can also be very challenging, especially when you are learning complicated analysis procedures that you have not encountered before. This can be quite overwhelming. However, I have come to realize that one of the reasons why I am doing a PhD is to learn new things – I am not expected to know everything, rather I can learn from others. So I am slowly getting better at asking for help!

What does a typical day look like for you?

At the moment it is a lot of desk-based work. This means reading the latest research articles, planning out an experiment, programming an experiment, collecting data, analyzing data, or writing up a manuscript. It depends on what stage of a project I am at; however, I usually have a couple of different projects on the go at once, so I find it helpful for motivation and engagement to be able to switch between different tasks.

What are your interests outside of science?

I really love traveling. I lived in the U.K. for a couple of years, between completing my undergraduate and starting my PhD. I was incredibly lucky to be able to visit many incredible places throughout Europe, experiencing so many different cultures and meeting lots of wonderful people along the way.  I also love reading and going to the gym.

A snap from Savannah’s 2-year research stint at the University of Oxford. The Radcliffe Camera – one of Oxford’s most distinctive sights, and a working library!

Words of advice for young women interested in pursuing a career in STEM?

Don’t let fear stand in your way. You can do whatever you set your mind to, you just have to start somewhere and give it a try. If an opportunity looks scary, take it up anyway because you never know what’s on the other side.  

What are you most proud of in your career so far?

I am proud of myself for not letting fear get in my way. When I finished my undergraduate degree, I knew I wasn’t ready to go straight into a post-graduate degree. An opportunity arose for me to work as a research assistant at the University of Oxford for two years. The thought of moving overseas by myself for what seemed to be such a long time was really scary. But this decision turned out to be one of my best yet!

What would you like to see change in the future for women in STEM?

I would like there to be fewer gendered preconceptions about particular roles. I would like young women to feel that they can pursue any career that they are interested in, and not to be persuaded otherwise because a particular field is overly male-dominated.

To find out more about Savannah’s research, follow her on Twitter.

Women in Maths and Science meets SciX: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in STEM

By Elizabeth Haris

For the third year in a row, UNSW has delivered a successful Science Extension (SciX) program to senior high school students passionate about science—and this year, some of our PhD champions got to take part!

SciX@UNSW is a summer school developed for high school science students to extend their understanding of the scientific method. Developed in collaboration with high school science teachers as a response to the Science Extension Syllabus, students take part in their own scientific research, developing a hypothesis, analyzing data, and presenting their findings. As well as learning technical lab skills like mathematical modeling, programming, and statistics, students also learn transferable skills like planning a project, collaboration, and critical thinking. And of course, one important aspect in all these things is a deeper understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

A few of us PhD champions were involved in a panel discussion aimed at facilitating a conversation about the critical importance of EDI to progress in STEM. We took part in a discussion on issues surrounding open science, diversity, and representation in science, which is something particularly important to us as champions for women in maths and science.

Though open science creates enough conversations in its own right, it is imperative that there are EDI practices across all aspects of science to enable science to be completed, published, and accessible to all. Introducing students to practices that enable the production of reproducible science—open code, deidentifying and sharing data, transparent research practices—is crucial at the beginning of their science careers to create good working practices. Yet just having good working practices isn’t enough to make science accessible to all. Students were also introduced to the practices still making science inaccessible (e.g., pay to publish articles and pay to read articles), and how this affects society at large. If we can’t make science accessible to all, we risk making it elitist and unrepresentative of society at large. But if we can facilitate a discussion about the inequities in the accessibility of science at the beginning of these scientists’ careers, then hopefully they can help create the change we need to see.

The SciX EDI panel featuring UNSW Women in Maths and Science Champions Elizabeth Haris, Suki Jaiswal, Savannah Minihan and Charuni Pathmeswaran

The other important topic of the session was the representation of minorities and women in STEM, primarily centered around a 2012 video by the European Commission titled, Science, it’s a girl thing!. A dismal attempt designed to entice high school girls to pursue careers in science, this video simply reinforced stereotypical gender cliches of men as ‘serious’ scientists (i.e., in lab coats), and women wearing high heels, short skirts, and makeup, and just posing and giggling. Allowing students the opportunity to discuss their thoughts on the video and on the representation of women in STEM in general, brief discussions were held surrounding gender stereotypes in science, women entering science and staying in science, and why it’s important to have diverse perspectives in science. It is exactly these kinds of issues that need to be at the forefront of these students’ minds when entering STEM fields: not only are they the ones these issues will affect, but they are the ones who can help change the system. If we empower students at the beginning of their science careers to stand up for representation in science, then hopefully one day we can all benefit from such a rich and diverse STEM environment.

As champions in maths and science, it was a pleasure seeing these young minds critically engaging with issues crucial to the progress of EDI in STEM through the SciX program. Fostering such an understanding of EDI in the next generation of scientists will not only allow for more inclusive science practices, but also create a more diverse population of compassionate, kind, and caring individuals in STEM and in society at large. Something from which we could all benefit.