Welcome to Cell Metabolism’s “Rosie Project”

Abstract

One of the top challenges we identified as part of our Cell Metabolism’s 10th Anniversary’s reflections is “attracting bright investigators to the field.” This challenge is not unique to the field of metabolism, and despite some concerns that we may have too many trainee scientists, it is imperative that we not only attract, but also retain committed bright women and men in all fields of science. There have been several recent high-profile discussions about diversity in science, which include topics such as gender representations in faculty appointments and review panels, equal salary expectations, and better awareness of work-life balance. In our opinion, one of the key components of success, along with having the appropriate culture of support and opportunities to grow, is having the right mentor. In this vein, we reached out to women scientists in the field of metabolism and asked them to share their stories, successes, and challenges as well as their words of wisdom for the next generations of researchers. At Cell Metabolism, we have affectionately referred to this endeavor as the “Rosie Project,” inspired by the World War II poster, Rosie the Riveter, featured on our cover to highlight the “Women in Metabolism” Voices. We were inspired by the scores of women scientists who candidly wrote about their experiences. In this issue, we present part I of this multi-series in which 12 talented women in the field share their insights, from the practical of finding a good mentor and having family support, to the fundamental of exciting science—asking the right questions. For us, it is not so much an issue of disparity between men versus women in science as it is more about recognizing that creativity and accomplishments, regardless of gender or other “minority issues,” need not be at the expense of work-life balance and responsibilities. We feel that being open-minded and flexible and creating the right environment for progress are essential components of our collective mission of advancing science and bettering lives. As editors, we do not factor authors’ countries, institutions, or gender when considering a paper, though we try and think about implicit biases when choosing reviewers. That said, although we aim to include both male and female peer reviewers from around the globe, we choose appropriate scientific expertise over gender and location. We also do our best to promote gender and geographical balance when appointing editorial board members or when selecting speakers for meetings, as we believe that diversity brings new and different ways of looking at any issue at hand. In the spirit of promoting work-life balance, we are proud to announce the creation of family travel grants for early career researchers traveling to our Cell Symposia. These grants are available to male or female scientists to help offset the financial strain associated with organizing extra childcare when traveling to a meeting. In closing, we would like to entreat all of you to not only keep thinking about advancing diversity, but also to please keep highlighting women scientists and mentors you would like to recommend for our ongoing “Women in Metabolism” Voices. Your feedback, as always, is most welcome, and please continue to take advantage of our Cell Metabolism editorial office hours on the third Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST.