Interview by Heidi Molga, CLB Undergraduate 
(under the supervision of Professor Amy Ralston)
October 8, 2013

Heidi: Could you start us off with a brief personal introduction?

Vicki: I was born in the Soviet Union, and I immigrated to this country when I was four. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. I did my undergraduate work at Cornell University, and went to get my Ph.D. at UC Berkeley. Then I did my postdoctoral work at Tuft’s Medical School, and I met my husband in graduate school. I was a second year graduate student, and he was a first year graduate student, and we got married right after I finished my Ph.D., right before he finished his Ph.D. We had our first child when we were post-docs, and our second child three weeks after we started our positions here at UCSC. We have two kids now. My husband is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSC, Michael Stone.

Heidi: How has being a parent changed your approach to work, teaching, and research?

Vicki: I was always fairly efficient, I never tended to over-socialize in the lab, but when I had my first child, I really had to be more efficient because I didn’t have as much time to spend in the lab. I just had to learn to make sure I clocked my experiments and laid them out so I knew that they would get done. I learned to work after my children went to bed, so it has changed when I work and how I work. Now, I do not get as frustrated about work, because when I go home, I try to shut everything else off and focus on my kids. That adds levity to days that could have been really rough work-wise. It has helped me get some perspective on work.

Heidi: What kind of support do you feel would be most helpful to professor parents?

Vicki: Well, some of the support systems that are already in place at UCSC are very helpful. My husband is up for tenure this year. I am not, even though we started at the same time, and that is because I was given maternity leave, and, what is called “modified duties.” I can’t come up for tenure yet. It is too early based on my review clock. That is probably the most important thing, to allow that to occur. If you have a child, you can choose to delay your tenure for a year. If we want scientists who are parents, we have to be able to provide that.

I think the second most important is providing sources of childcare that are readily available, high quality, and not too expensive. One thing that is interesting to think about is that nobody asked me to have children. It is not necessarily fair to give a ton of help to someone who does have children, because that could be seen as unfair. So, I think there is a limit to what is seen as fair, but I think if we do want to promote scientists to have families, then we have to provide this.

Heidi: What do you feel is the best way to increase the number of women in STEM tenured positions without compromising excellence?

Vicki: A change of attitude. Promoting women in sciences and getting women out there. Not only more women professors, but more chairwomen who are professors. I am lucky that I have a chairwoman, rather than a chairman, to have that example. Only after it is more common to see women in those positions, are we going to lose that bias. Part of it is cultural.

Heidi: So, what are the most important goals, in your opinion, of graduate school, post-doc, and as an assistant professor?

Vicki: As a graduate student, the most important goal is to gain enough experience to be an independent thinker, and to really know your particular field. Also, gathering experience in what you think you will really need, and to publish papers, to really show that you can be productive. For post-doc, build a large body of work that you are going to take with you, to publish more papers, and to start mentoring other students. It is important for a P.I. to know what your postgraduate students’ goals are so that you can really cater that experience. As a young faculty, the most important thing to do is to set your lab up with good people, to try to set up good collaborations, and to publish papers, and to establish funding. Really, having a good core group of people in your lab is important.

Heidi: What is one thing most people do not know about life as a professor?

Vicki: When I talk to my kids’ friends’ parents, they expect that all you do is teach, they don’t expect you to also run a research lab, so I think that most people think most professors are only teaching. Most of the time, at least for science professors, that is a minority of what they do during their day.

Heidi: What is the hardest thing about being a scientist?

Vicki: Constant rejection, and still having confidence in what you are doing, even though you are constantly being torn down.

Heidi: What is your next big career goal?

Vicki: Getting tenure.

Heidi: Tell us something about you that would surprise others.

Vicki: I would be a gardener if I wasn’t a scientist. Also, I think that the most rewarding part of my job is teaching and mentoring. Sometimes, that is not expected, because we are so focused on our research, but in terms of feeling rewarded emotionally, that is probably the most important. I like to have a mixture of both [graduate students and undergraduates] in my lab. I love the interactions I get to have with them, to see them get excited about science, is great. The possibilities are kind of endless for them. You can’t really replace the experience of a graduate student though, because it is a long experience, so you really see them evolve. I have students now who are starting their fifth year, and I can really see a huge change, and that is really rewarding. It is not just what I have taught them, but what they have learned, in general, in doing the process of science and being in the department.

Heidi: When you are in a rut, how do you inspire yourself?

Vicki: Well, I am constantly in a rut, I feel like, when I have to write a grant, because it is hard. Probably the best thing is to take a step back, and to read the literature, not just read about the details you have been thinking about, but something that is a little outside the field, and could be really exciting. That could really make you step outside the little box you have drawn yourself into, and realize all the cool things you could do.

Heidi: What is the best advice you have ever received?

Vicki: My graduate advisor told me, “you should have kids now,” when I was in graduate school. I was thinking “I am not going to have kids now.” He said, “There is no perfect time for having kids. You just have to find what works best for you.” When you are a graduate student or a post-doc, you actually have quite a bit of flexibility. You are not responsible for much other than your own research. You may not be teaching, you typically are not part of committees, so it may actually be a good time to have an infant, and have weird hours. That was not expected, for [my graduate advisor] to say that, and I did take it to heart, not as a graduate student, but as a post-doc.

Heidi: What are your best strategies in terms of attaining an appropriate balance between work life and home life?

Vicki: Being organized and scheduling protected time for work and protected time for family.

Heidi: What are your greatest weaknesses in terms of of attaining an appropriate balance between work life and home life?

Vicki: Obsessing about work when I’m with my kids if I have an important deadline. I try my best, but sometimes am distracted. I am getting better at avoiding this.

Heidi: What advice do you have for students desiring an academic career as well as a family?

Vicki: It’s possible, but it is important to have a support network around you and to really love what you do. To get enjoyment from your work as well as your family.

Heidi: Would your advice differ if you were advising a male student vs. a female student?

Vicki: No.

Heidi: How has your approach to career-life balance evolved over the years/ through each stage of the journey?

Vicki: I have come to realize that defocusing on work and focusing on my family actually helps me be more productive when I go back to thinking about my research, or teaching, or whatever I have going on at work. Because of this, I don’t worry anymore that making protected time for my family will detract from my academic progress.

I have also become more used to rejections (from granting agencies, journals, etc.), so rejection doesn’t affect my overall sense of happiness as much it did before. I can more easily see that rejection is just a part of the scientific endeavor and a learning experience that can help me become even better at what I do. I am better at shrugging off rejection, and keeping my focus on both work and family rather than wasting time on a frustrating emotion.