08 March 2019
#WomenOfKings - Esperanza Perucha
Celebrating and elevating King’s women for International Women's Day
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 the Faculty of Life Science & Medicine King's about their careers, inspirations and what drives them.
"You are the protagonist of your life, so make your choices and go for it!"
Dr Esperanza Perucha is a Lecturer in Experimental Rheumatology in the School of Immunology & Microbial Sciences
What are you proudest of in your career?
Having been able to stay in scientific research for so long, juggling a very demanding career around my family and, despite how difficult this is, finding a balance between the two.
Why did you decide to go into this field of study/research/work?
I always found fascinating the fact that we were made of very small parts that work together to make us function in the most precise and amazing way. I remember the first time I saw a cell through a microscope and I thought… wow! An unexplored world just for me to observe!
What would you tell women who want to study in your field?
Never, ever, give up. Despite what friends and family might tell you, you are the protagonist of your life, so make your choices and go for it!
Who or what made you want to work in this field?
My grandfather, and his microscope.
How has your field changed since you started, and where do you see it going in the future?
My field has moved from wet laboratory work to biology understood from the -omics perspective. We obtain millions of data points from our experiments that only computers/clusters can analyse, so we can understand the outcome. I have also observed collaborations between disciplines, that have merged to create new disciplines, like the one I work on: the fusion between metabolism and immunity. In the future, I see science more engaged with the community that serves, and the era of precision medicine finally coming to us, where we will treat our patients individually, according to their genetic background, their environment and their disease.