International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter

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International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
International Women’s Day 2019
Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories
#BalanceforBetter
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Celebrating International Women’s Day 2019

International Women’s Day (March 8th) is a global day
celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political
achievements of women.

The day has occurred for well over a century, evolving from the fight for voting rights
for women all over the world to a new emphasis on raising women to positions of
influence and celebrating their achievements.
The 2019 campaign theme of #BalanceforBetter is a call-to-action for driving gender
balance across the world. IWD organizers explain this year’s theme on their site:

“Balance is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue.
The race is on for the gender-balanced boardroom, a gender-balanced government,
gender-balanced media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-balance
in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage...
Gender balance is essential for economies and communities to thrive.”1

We are moving to a very exciting time in history where the world now expects gender
balance. The world notices its absence and celebrates its presence.
Advancing women’s equality in the countries of Asia Pacific could add $4.5 trillion to
their collective GDP annually in 2025, a 12% over a business-as-usual GDP trajectory.2
We know that gender-diverse companies are 21% more likely to outperform their
less-diverse counterparts, better able to attract top talent, and have improved rates of
customer and employee satisfaction.3
A balanced world is a better world.
To help make a difference, we at SCIEX are sharing the stories and celebrating the
successes of some of our women customers from across the region.

To all our colleagues and customers, happy International Women’s Day!

1.
   www.internationalwomensday.com
2.
   THE POWER OF PARITY: ADVANCING WOMEN’S EQUALITY IN ASIA PACIFIC. April 2018. McKinsey Global Institute
3.
   Vivian Hunt, Sara Prince, Sundiatu Dixon-Fyle & Lareina Yee. Delivering through Diversity. January 2018. McKinsey & Company
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Professor Michelle Colgrave
                                         Professor of Food and Agriculture, CSIRO Agriculture and Food
                                         and the School of Science, Edith Cowan University, Australia

Please tell us your story of how you got to                              to solve complex problems, but this requires trans-disciplinary
where you are in your career today.                                      approaches and critical thinking. I like to surround myself with
                                                                         people with different skill sets and from different backgrounds
I began my research career as a PhD student at the University
                                                                         because they will not tackle the problem in the same way that
of Wollongong in the area of bioanalytical mass spectrometry.
                                                                         I will. In practice, this means that we have a better chance of
I then moved to the United Kingdom and spent time in an
                                                                         cracking the big challenges and achieving it in a shorter time frame.
instrument development lab looking at interfacing ion mobility
with mass spectrometry. I moved back to Australia joining the
University of Queensland to apply mass spectrometry to accelerate
                                                                         Who has inspired you in your career in science?
natural peptide discovery. I then took a role in industry as a field     My PhD supervisor Prof Margaret Sheil AO was an excellent
application specialist in proteomics (at Applied Biosystems). In 2007,   role model, not only did she demonstrate high level technical
I joined CSIRO to establish proteomics and now lead the Molecular        skills in a (at the time) male dominated field, her work ethic
Analysis team. In October 2018, I took on an additional role as          was unbelievable. She was the first female chemistry lecturer in
a Professorial Research Fellow at ECU to establish a proteomics          Australia and went on to lead the ARC. I am also surrounded by
research group which is focussing on food safety and quality with a      excellent scientists and managers both female and male who have
particular emphasis on grain science.                                    sought to remove the barriers, perceived or real, allowing females
                                                                         to reach their potential.
What excites you outside of work?
I have a young family who love travel and sport. We recently
                                                                         Do you have any advice for other women in
travelled to Japan to ski and snowboard which combined both              STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
passions and was a great cultural experience. I also play Oztag, a       Find a good mentor and meet regularly. Use the relationship to
type of football and will be competing in the Queensland State           build on your strengths and find areas wherein you can develop
Titles in March, looking to defend our title.                            new skills. The mentor does not need to be female, nor even in the
                                                                         same field of research, and you can change your mentor after you
Have you faced any challenges as a woman in                              have gained the experience which you first sought, but selecting
your role?                                                               someone who has been through the same challenges can give you
                                                                         confidence that your issues are not unique and help you find ways
Not specifically as a woman. As a scientist, my team faces many
                                                                         to solve them.
challenges trying to solve some of the biggest problems facing
agricultural science. In the field of food and agriculture, we face
some issues attracting funding at the same level that might be
achieved in the medical/health sciences. As such, working with
industry is critical to not only understand the problems that
                                                                            “Balance is critical,
industry face and how our science can answer these questions                 because whether it be
but also deliver the foundations for future research. We can
achieve excellent science, but one of our key challenges is effective        based on gender, culture
communication of our research outcomes and how we can use this
to increase the impact of our research.
                                                                             or any other factor,
                                                                             diversity brings a wealth
The theme for International Women’s Day this
year is “Balance for Better.” What does this
                                                                             of ideas.”
mean to you and what action do you think we
need to take?
Balance is critical, because whether it be based on gender, culture
or any other factor, diversity brings a wealth of ideas. We look

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                          Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Sharon Paterson
                                          Medical Laboratory Scientist, Toxicology and Workplace Drug
                                          Testing Laboratory, Canterbury District Health Board, New Zealand

Please tell us your story of how you got to                                Who has inspired you in your career in science?
where you are in your career today.                                        My Year 11 high school teacher, Mr. Fife, was my inspiration to
I left high school for a position as a laboratory technician in Clinical   pursue a career in science. I went to a girls only high school where
Biochemistry at Christchurch Hospital and studied part-time                studying the sciences and math was actively encouraged. There
working towards my qualification as a Medical Laboratory Scientist.        was also a big push during that time that “Girls can do anything.”
After three years in the general biochemistry laboratories, I got
the opportunity to specialise in Toxicology. This role has involved        Do you have any advice for other women in
developing methodologies for therapeutic drug monitoring,                  STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
occupational exposure monitoring, medical drug screening and               Go for it!
more recently the area of workplace drug testing. Technology
has changed enormously over my 35 years in this field, from thin
layer chromatography in the 1980s, to LC-MS/MS and now to
the most recent addition to our laboratory, a SCIEX X500R which
has enabled our lab to keep up with the constant stream of new
synthetic drugs that are in our communities. My job is constantly
changing and every day I am learning something new. I guess that
is why I still love coming to work after 35 years in the laboratory.

What excites you outside of work?
I have three children and one grandchild. I am a keen netball and
rugby supporter and I also enjoy watching cricket. I like to garden in
my spare time as well as walk my dog along the beach or through
the forest, both of which are on my doorstep.

Have you faced any challenges as a woman in
your role?
Occasionally others think they have more expertise and know
better how to go about things but I stick to my plan and usually the
outcomes speak for themselves.
                                                                               “Equal pay for equal work
The theme for International Women’s Day this
year is “Balance for Better.” What does this                                    and flexibility to allow for
mean to you and what action do you think we                                     family commitments are two
need to take?
We need to give women the same voice and respect in the world
                                                                                things that will improve the
as men, but also realise there will be times when family must come              gender-balance”
before everything else. Equal pay for equal work and flexibility to
allow for family commitments are two things that will improve the
gender-balance in all areas for both men and women.

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                             Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Prof. Ute Roessner
                                           Head of School, School of BioSciences and Node Leader,
                                           Metabolomics Australia, The University of Melbourne, Australia

Please tell us your story of how you got to                                 your manager your desire to climb the ladder, to take on additional
where you are in your career today.                                         responsibilities, to push hard on the research, and request their
                                                                            help to find those opportunities. Talk to as many people in upper
During my studies at the University of Potsdam, I could not wait
                                                                            management as possible and respond to calls for leadership
to get into the lab, so I signed up as a casual at the Max Planck
                                                                            positions so that your name becomes known.
Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology. I quickly learned that I really
had to deal with my fear of speaking in English, so went off and did
my MSc at the John Innes Institute in the United Kingdom, followed
                                                                            The theme for International Women’s Day this
by a PhD back at the Max Planck Institute. This was an exciting time        year is “Balance for Better.” What does this
- I was part of the pioneering team that developed the concept              mean to you and what action do you think we
of metabolomics, and even witnessed Prof Oliver Fiehn come up               need to take?
with the name at a party! In 2003, Prof Tony Bacic convinced me             All I say, yes and yes and yes. We have to thrive towards gender
to move to Australia, where we established the Australian Centre            balance everywhere, but we also have to acknowledge that there
for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG). This was followed by                 is much more to diversity and inclusion. We have a lot more work
setting up a national metabolomics service facility (Metabolomics           to do to make diversity and inclusion possible. I acted for two
Australia), of which I became node leader in 2011.                          years as Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at the Faculty
In 2013, I was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship and established             of Science, UoM, and realised that addressing gender balance
my own research program in temporal and spatially-resolved                  is rather easy compared to considering all other diversity our
metabolomics of plant roots. In 2018 I became Head of School of             population represent, and which we want to have represented
Botany, which is such an exciting place to lead. Not a single day           at our University. As a head of school it is one of our foremost
passes without good news, and I enjoy being part of the positive            responsibility to establish the environment, acceptance, tolerance
change at the University. Although I am now far away from the lab,          and respect for all and everyone in our community, across gender,
and even further away from a mass spectrometer, my heart still sits         age, disability, ethnicity, indigenous or LGBTQ+.
with metabolomics and I hope that I can maintain my passion and
keep on developing cool new methods to measure the amazing                  Who has inspired you in your career in science?
diversity of chemistry we find in biology!                                  There have been many great people who have inspired me. In the
                                                                            plant sciences its people like Profs Mark Tester and Tony Bacic,
What excites you outside of work?                                           plant metabolomics Dr Joachim Kopka and Profs Lloyd Sumner and
My family, husband and a 17-year old son and two lovely                     Kazuki Saito, lipidomics Profs Ivo Feussner and Markus Wenk. As
stepdaughters. Joy of every day are my two fluffy puppies Rudi and          a leader I have been inspired by Profs Lothar Willmitzer and Mark
Oscar. I love outdoors, bush walking, travelling. I read a lot, mostly      Burgman and Dick Strugnell, and many more.
crime novels, but only in German!
                                                                            Do you have any advice for other women in
Have you faced any challenges as a woman in                                 STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
your role?                                                                  Be persistent. Keep going. Put in the effort. Be passionate and love
This is a difficult question to answer. Probably yes, in some ways,         your work, most importantly. If you don’t love what you do, you
but it is always difficult to differentiate if hurdles are there because    will not excel, that is what I believe, and this applies to everyone,
you are a woman, or because you are lacking specific skills. I have         not just women!
always interpreted hurdles or drawbacks in my career as the latter,
and then identified opportunities to learn about myself, identify my
weaknesses and strengths, and work on improving and learning
new skills. This has given me more confidence in my own abilities
and allowed me to put up my hand when leadership opportunities
came up. I also think an important aspect is to communicate with

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                              Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Dr Sarit Kaserzon
                                         Senior Researcher, the Queensland Alliance for Environmental
                                         Health Sciences (QAEHS), University of Queensland, Australia

Please tell us your story of how you got to                              it is not enough. Women and mothers are a strong, determined
where you are in your career today.                                      nurturing force that are essential in STEM to make useful and safe
                                                                         innovations. There is a clear need for change to supporting women
Growing up in Israel, I had always been very passionate about
                                                                         enough to stay in STEM!
animals and our environment. After graduating from high school
and completing compulsory military service my goal was to study
environmental health sciences. However, options in Israel were
                                                                         The theme for International Women’s Day this
virtually non-existent at the time, so I started a career in marketing   year is “Balance for Better.” What does this
communications. After several years I recognised I had drifted           mean to you and what action do you think we
too far from my passion, so went off to explore a different career       need to take?
path. I moved to Australia and began a BSc(Hons) in environmental        We need both a bottom-up (educating our kids from early years)
biology and chemistry at RMIT, and knew immediately I had found          and a top-down (from the highest levels in government, corporate
my calling. Studying in another language and country away from           and private industries) approach to tackle gender balance. This
friends and family was initially very challenging, but it goes to show   will require full involvement of leaders, the community, and the
that a determined mind can achieve anything. I was awarded a             individual. For me it is about challenging my bosses about the
scholarship to complete a PhD at the University of Queensland,           dwindling of women representation at senior academic levels, and
developing sampling and analytical strategies to better understand       educating my boys when they tell me “boys can do it better than
toxic environmental pollutants. I have held several postdoctoral         girls!”
positions, which bring me to the Research Fellow position I
hold today. The opportunity to continue to explore, experiment
and hopefully contribute to a healthier planet by working on
                                                                         Who has inspired you in your career in
understanding and reducing human and environmental exposure to           science?
toxic pollutants is what drives me. If we respect and look after our     There are so many inspiring women and young girls that I cannot
planet, she will certainly look after us!                                name them all. Recently, I absolutely
                                                                         love how inspiring 16-year old
What excites you outside of work?                                        Swedish climate activist Greta
                                                                         Thunberg is and how she is providing
I get most excited about travelling and exploring different places,
                                                                         such strong leadership and a prime
cultures and cuisines. There are always new places to explore and
                                                                         example of how young people
new things to learn about the beautiful diversity in this world,
                                                                         can use their voices to move and
and it is the most enriching and fun way to educate oneself about
                                                                         shake the most senior leadership.
society and our planet.
                                                                         I also have to say my mother, who                    Swedish climate
                                                                         supported my dad and his business                    activist Greta
Have you faced any challenges as a woman in                              for most of her life. Much later in her              Thunberg
your role?                                                               life, Mum decided to follow her passion and started studying and
For the most part, my journey has felt very balanced. It was             practicing yoga and shiatsu, eventually becoming a teacher herself.
not until after my first child was born midway through my PhD            She showed me what following your own path with tenacity grit,
studies when I experienced the immense pressure to juggle my             resilience and education can achieve. Thanks mum!
studies and raise a tiny human. My maternity leave was short -
only four and a half months – and with every day back at work,           Do you have any advice for other women in
the exhaustion grows and the gap you feel between yourself               STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
and fellow researchers widens. My second child came 6 months
                                                                         Find a niche that you love, that excites you and apply it to your job
after I completed my PhD. Today, my kids are 4 and 6 and while
                                                                         and your future. Be challenged by what you love and that will keep
the juggling and exhaustions subsides ever so slightly with every
                                                                         you motivated. Ignore the “nay-sayers”. Help your fellow STEM
passing year, the legacy of the physical and mental burdens are
                                                                         colleagues, as it is within collaborations that we can achieve the
still strongly felt. While some efforts are made to assist mothers in
                                                                         greatest influence.
STEM, (e.g. ‘career Interruptions’ in competitive grant applications),

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                           Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Valentina Valova
                                          Manager, Biomedical Proteomics, Children’s Medical Research
                                          Institute (CMRI), Australia

Please tell us your story of how you got to
where you are in your career today.
My career began with a MSc (Biotechnology) from Sofia University
in Bulgaria. After two years at the Joint Institute for Nuclear
Research in Dubna, Russia, I moved to Sydney where I completed
a MAppSc (Biopharmaceuticals) at the UNSW. This is when I was
first introduced to mass spectrometry and I was lucky enough
to find myself at the forefront of a rapidly developing field. My
training in mass spectrometry combined with a strong background
in science and engineering helped me embark on an exciting new
career in 1998, when I joined Professor Phil Robinson at CMRI. Our
pioneering work in phospho-proteomics and in the development of
methods for identification of protein-protein interactions provided
the necessary basis for establishing Proteomics as a core technology
in the Westmead Research Precinct. I am a Co-Founder of
Biomedical Proteomics, The ACRF Centre for Kinomics and ProCan
- The ACRF International Centre for the Proteome of Cancer. I led
the design of the above multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art facilities
and their establishment, operation and expansion over the last 20
years.

What excites you outside of work?
My whole family is engaged in helping with wildlife and pet rescue.
Over the last few years we have rescued and rehomed kittens,
lorikeets, budgies, canaries and a talking cockatoo. We are getting        Valentina and her team at CMRI
better at it.

The theme for International Women’s Day this
year is “Balance for Better.” What does this
mean to you and what action do you think we
need to take?
Being heard, being taken seriously is still an issue for many women.

Who has inspired you in your career in science?                              “Being heard, being taken
My mother.
                                                                              seriously is still an issue
Do you have any advice for other women in                                     for many women”
STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
Be kind to yourself.

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                    Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Dr Shalona Anuj
Scientist, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, Australia

Please tell us your story of how you got to                             Do you have any advice for other women in
where you are in your career today.                                     STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
After finishing my PhD, I worked as an analyst for QPharm located       You have to do what you are passionate about in life and will get
at the Clive Berghoffer Centre in Brisbane. Funnily enough, Andy        you out of bed in the morning. Money is good but a purpose
de Jager (then a Field Applications Specialist at SCIEX) was my         is better, so if STEM is where your passion is, just keep going,
manager. After a couple of years of working at QPharm, the              because you never know where the road will take you.
company restructured, and Andy suggested I try applying for a
position at QHFSS, as they were after someone with experience
using the SCIEX instruments. Ten years on, I am still at QHFSS,
using the 4000, 5500 and soon to be 6500 instruments, to develop
methods with both environmental, public health and forensics
applications.

What excites you outside of work?
Climbing and nature.

Have you faced any challenges as a woman in
your role?
Well, most of my colleagues are males, so you can say, females
are not well represented in the technical/ analytical field. However,
that has not posed any significant challenges, as my colleagues
and workplace happily accept that women can also work in highly
technical science focused roles. If anything, being a woman has
helped open doors and opportunities.

The theme for International Women’s Day this
year is “Balance for Better.” What does this
mean to you and what action do you think we
need to take?
There is not a great representation of women in scientific technical       “You have to do what you
roles, especially at a leadership level. That said, thanks to social
and other media platforms, there is a greater awareness now for             are passionate about in
the need for balance in relation to women, not just at work, but in
all areas of life. This can be achieved by empowering women with
                                                                            life and will get you out
mentoring tools and opportunities to progress in their careers and          of bed in the morning.”
other pursuits, while acknowledging the need for a balanced life
which may encompass time away to build and care for a family.

Who has inspired you in your career in science?
My chemistry teacher in year 12, he thought I was the worst
student he had taught in a long time.

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                        Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Claire Sutcliffe
                                        Supervising Scientist Toxicology, Western Diagnostic Pathology,
                                        Australia

Please tell us your story of how you got to                             Do you have any advice for other women in
where you are in your career today.                                     STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
I have always loved science and finding out how things work since       Just be confident and yourself. You’re already a smart woman so
I was a child, and doing well in science at school it was an easy       don’t let anyone believe that you’re less than.
choice to follow this into university where I completed a degree
in Biomedical science, Molecular Biology and Forensics. From
there I applied anywhere and everywhere and was lucky to get
into a pathology lab and found that I really loved it and wanted to
move up and into the toxicology department. From there I moved
laboratories a couple of times before settling at WDP and being
given the tools and freedom to forge out a great department with
a great group of people.

What excites you outside of work?
I love my two little cockatiels, gardening, hitting the gym, catching
up on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Netflix, and hanging out with friends!

Have you faced any challenges as a woman in
your role?
Yes! But I see every day as an opportunity to help educate people
and show that women are important in the future of STEM as they
are just as hard working, and can often bring a fresh perspective to
the table.

The theme for International Women’s Day this                               “We need to give [women]
year is “Balance for Better.”
As written on the IWD website: “Balance is not a women’s issue,
                                                                            an equal voice at the table
it’s a business issue. The race is on for the gender-balanced               and actually listen to what
boardroom, a gender-balanced government, gender-balanced
media coverage, a gender-balance of employees, more gender-                 they have to offer.”
balance in wealth, gender-balanced sports coverage…” What does
this mean to you and what action do you think we need to take?

I think that we need to see more women on all of these areas, but
not just to prove a point or make up the numbers. We need to
give them an equal voice at the table and actually listen to what
they have to offer. We also can’t expect this to happen overnight,
especially in the world of sports for example, popularity and
sponsorship takes time, so we can’t always be directly comparing
these to the well-established men’s leagues. We also can’t always
expect business/government/media systems to be able stay the
same as many were set up by a straight white male dominant
societies without ever allowing for anything different to enter
the conversation.

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                       Visit us at sciex.com >
International Women's Day 2019 - Sharing SCIEX Customer Success Stories #BalanceforBetter
Shilpa Akshay Karvir-Joshi
                                           Laboratory Manager, Manuka Health, New Zealand

Please tell us your story of how you got to                                 women playing key roles and holding top positions, however,
where you are in your career today.                                         we are not yet where we should be.

Science has always fascinated me and left me looking for answers
which made me inquisitive. I have always been interested in
                                                                            Who has inspired you in your career in science?
research activities, Genetics as a modern tool being my graduation          My parents recognised my liking towards Science and encouraged
project. This led me to enroll for Master of Science by research in         me to pursue my passion towards the subject. I think science can
Microbiology. I enrolled and completed my post graduate diploma             answer most of our questions. I started studying as Zoology and
in food technology from Waikato University. I started with Manuka           Botany; further developing my keenness to Microbiology and
Health as a laboratory technician; learning, accepting criticisms and       Food technology. I truly appreciate how science helps the world
gaining experience which enabled me to advance to the laboratory            to be a better place and will do in future. I would like to thank my
manager’s position.                                                         parents, my husband who have encouraged and supported all the
                                                                            way. On professional front I would like to thank Manuka Health
What excites you outside of work?                                           management and my staff for their trust and support. I again thank
                                                                            my parents, in laws and especially my husband who never held me
I love my family, other things I really enjoy are travelling and
                                                                            down because I am a woman!
cooking different cuisines. I love learning new recipes and cooking
them for my family. Not only do I enjoy cooking, I am a foodie too;
and try different vegetarian cuisines from around the globe. I enjoy        Do you have any advice for other women in
Mexican and Italian cuisines the most. I love travelling and visiting       STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
different places. I appreciate the journey as much as I enjoy the           Women tend to question and doubt their own abilities and need
destination. I love to go for walks as well as visit busy bustling cities   more encouragement. Failure shouldn’t let us down, failure is the
with my husband.                                                            stepping stone to success. We can have all the expertise in the
                                                                            world, but nothing matters if we, women don’t value ourselves.
Have you faced any challenges as a woman in                                 Be strong, be brave and believe in yourself to choose science
your role?                                                                  and pursue it as a career. Deserving women from educational
                                                                            institutions should be awarded grants, fellowships, and should be
A woman’s role and her life is always challenging being a mother,
                                                                            encouraged to participate in science fairs and provided with all the
sister, daughter or wife. I have faced several challenges in order to
                                                                            necessary support.
reach and achieve my aspirations. I love challenges which keeps me
going. I think challenges add certain spice to life, teaching us and
give us both pleasant and unkind experiences.

The theme for International Women’s Day this                                   “We can have all the
year is “Balance for Better.” What does this
mean to you and what action do you think we
                                                                                expertise in the world,
need to take?                                                                   but nothing matters
Balance at workplace means fair treatment irrespective of gender,
race, rich and poor. There should be transparency to cause and
                                                                                if we, women don’t
effect, and everyone should know what to expect in terms of                     value ourselves.”
consequences and rewards. Everyone should be free to choose,
develop their career and aptitudes without being stereotyped
or held back. When balance exists, people have equal access
to opportunities which leads to better output benefitting the
organisation and in turn leads to betterment of the society. With
the changing times this balance is being restored, we can see many

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                                             Visit us at sciex.com >
Lisa Zheng
Senior Technologist, Analytica Laboratories Ltd., New Zealand

Please tell us your story of how you got to
where you are in your career today.
Right after I finished my master’s degree, I decided to get some
work experience first instead of continuing PhD study. I was
inspired by CSI TV series at that time and interested in a role in
an analytical laboratory. I started working at Hills Laboratories
and became technologist the second year to be involved more in
method development and operation troubleshooting. I enjoy what
I have done for over ten years, and am still doing- developing new
methods, helping others to solve problems and also learning new
technologies to develop new skills.

What excites you outside of work?
I spend most of my time after work by myself as all of my family
lives in China. I love to cook different cuisines and it’s so handy
nowadays that I can buy everything I need conveniently. Church
activities take another important part of my spare time.

Have you faced any challenges as a woman in
your role?
As the only female of the technologist team for most of the time
in my career, challenges are unavoidable. I have to say, as a woman
it takes much longer to gain respect and acknowledgment from
other teams.

The theme for International Women’s Day this                          “As a woman it
year is “Balance For Better”. What does this                           takes much longer
mean to you and what action do you think we
need to take?                                                          to gain respect and
I understand women are expecting a more balanced society, which        acknowledgment
means women should have equal opportunities to be involved in
any part of the business if they are interested.                       from other teams.”

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                     Visit us at sciex.com >
Lianzhen (Lilian) Klinger
                                         Laboratory Manager, Zenith Technology (ZenTech), New Zealand

Please tell us your story of how you got to
where you are in your career today.
Perhaps it was my natural instincts in science that caused me to first
fall in love with mass spectrometry at ZenTech. From the first mass
spectrometer in 2005, to today with eight LC-MS/MS systems, we
have developed more than 120 assays for determination of drugs
and/or metabolites in human plasma, serum or whole blood by LC-
MS/MS. As I am responsible for each incoming assay, I am proud of
what I have done even though there’s a lot of stress.

What excites you outside of work?
Travel and gardening.

Do you have any advice for other women in                                “I am proud of what
STEM careers or aspiring for your job role?
In the field of science and technology, both men and women must
                                                                          I have done.”
study hard and work hard.

International Women’s Day 8th March 2019                                                        Visit us at sciex.com >
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