King's College London

It's International Women's Day on Friday 8 March – a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year's theme is Balance for Better, which calls for a more gender-balanced society. From the board room to the government, media coverage to employment, gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive.

To celebrate International Women's Day, we spoke to women from King's Faculty of Life Science & Medicine about their careers, inspirations and what drives them.

"Women are not competing on a level playing field when pursuing a career in science so to have navigated such a landscape and be successful is something to be proud of"

Professor Cathy Shanahan is the Vice-Dean of Development, Diversity & Inclusion for the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine and a Professor of Cellular Signaling in the School of Cardiovascular Medicine & Sciences. 

What are you proudest of in your career?

I am really proud when members of my team do well and are recognized.  Although I don’t generally equate pride with myself, on reflection I should be proud that I have a successful career.  Women are not competing on a level playing field when pursuing a career in science so to have navigated such a landscape and be successful is something to be proud of!

Why did you decide to go into this field of study/research/work? What would you tell women who want to study in your field?

I came into cardiovascular research completely by chance – I decided that medical research was an area that would never be short of funding and I was able to adapt my molecular biology skills to the study of vascular smooth muscle cells and more importantly was able to find interesting questions to answer.  Cardiovascular research is a demanding but rewarding area of research.  On the down side it remains a male dominated domain so the culture is sometimes alien and there is a deficit of female colleagues particularly in the senior ranks.  But this shouldn’t deter women - things are definitely getting better and the opportunities outweigh the negatives. And importantly "the more the merrier"!

Who or what made you want to work in this field? How has your field changed since you started, and where do you see it going in the future?

The influence of a fantastic (male) mentor was the main reason that I stayed in the field and was able to navigate a career.  Cardiovascular research has always been a field full of incredibly interesting questions and the future is likely to pose even more as the population ages and cardiovascular disease increases and evolves.   The fountain of youth (or at least cardiovascular youth) is possible so this is definitely one for the future!