Q5: How did you build a network of male or female colleagues and mentors who helped and advised you onto the path you took? How and where do you interact with these friends today?

FA 🇺🇸 >🇺🇸
(chemical engineering, bioengineering, directed evolution)
RA 🇮🇳 > 🇮🇳
(structural biochemistry, purine metabolism, nucleobase deamination, antibiotic production)
JB 🇺🇸 > 🇺🇸 (DNA structure, dynamics, DNA-mediated charge transfer, electrochemistry)
MB 🇦🇺>🇦🇺
(complex bioactive natural product synthesis, peptide synthesis)
HJD 🇦🇺 >🇺🇸
(NMR, structural biology, dynamic systems)
SD 🇮🇳>🇮🇳
(protein-protein interactions, protein aggregation, protein chemistry, protein-small molecule interactions)
CF 🇵🇹>🇵🇹
(solid catalysts, polyoxometalate chemistry, molecular nanosciences, green material sciences)
MG 🇨🇭>🇨🇭
(mapping protein-protein interactions, immune responses, biomarkers, enzyme complexes)
VG 🇩🇪>🇬🇧
(fluorine chemistry, radiopharmaceuticals)
SI 🇲🇽>🇺🇸
(deep learning, artificial intelligence)
UK 🇩🇪>🇸🇪
(protein X-ray crystallography, protein-carbohydrate interactions)
KM 🇸🇪>🇯🇵
(analytical chemistry, chemistry, mathematics, geology, geography)
MM 🇵🇸>🇮🇱
(post-traumatic stress disorder chemical models)
LN 🇫🇮>🇨🇭
(phytochemicals, plant sterol conjugates, health sciences)
MJR 🇵🇹>🇵🇹
(computational enzymatic catalysis, protein dynamics, computational mutagenesis, molecular docking, drug discovery)
SR 🇺🇸>🇺🇸
(natural product synthesis, methods development, nickel catalysis)
VR 🇬🇷>🇬🇷
(organic chemistry, natural product synthesis)
AS 🇺🇸>🇺🇸
(macromolecular complexes, chemical biology)
HS 🇱🇧>🇨🇦
(supramolecular chemistry, DNA chemistry, synthetic polymers, biomimetic materials, molecular self-assembly)
JS 🇺🇸>🇺🇸
(biochemistry, ribonucleotide reductases)
JT 🇦🇺>🇦🇺
(biomolecular structures, biophysics, small-angle scattering)
MV 🇨🇿>🇨🇿
(anaerobic chemistry and technologies, thermophilic microorganisms, sulfate-reducing bacteria)
HW 🇩🇪>🇨🇭
(peptide chemistry, chemical biology, asymmetric catalysis, synthetic materials)
AY 🇮🇱>🇮🇱
(structural biology, ribosomal crystallography)
YY 🇯🇵>🇨🇭
(in-vivo imaging, chemical force microscopy, photosensitive materials, supramolecular chemistry)
MWZ 🇺🇸>🇨🇭
(tissue engineering, biofabrication)

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Q5: How did you build a network of male or female colleagues and mentors who helped and advised you onto the path you took? How and where do you interact with these friends today?

I haven’t had mentors, but now enjoy being one by trying to help younger colleagues.

Help comes in many forms, and friends and mentors are there for you. Hear their advice. It is difficult to survive without this support system. It was not easy to know what to do at the beginning, but the network grows with you as you assume the role of a mentor yourself.

I’ve not entered into formal networks per se, but my husband and I trained together. I discuss virtually everything with him.

I have been extremely fortunate to be surrounded by exceptional scientists who are also excellent people. It is they who inspired me to become, and keep me, a good scientist.

As a graduate student and postdoc I formed strong relationships with fellow graduate students, postdocs, and a partner or two. Those relationships are still significant.

I find the best ways to build networks are presenting at conferences and signing up to meet seminar speakers in broad areas, not just your own. Invite and host scientists to speak in your department. Organize symposia. As an assistant professor, turn down no opportunities to socialize and network!

During my studies, my best mentor was my mother, who so enthused me for the study of microbiology. My working group was not friendly at the time. At present, I am no longer in touch with my first colleagues.

I never explicitly built a network. Rather I accepted into my group, and can still contact, interested women and men of passion, curiosity, and high scientific quality.

No formal groups, really, but my colleagues and I are close.