MICCAI 2016 Daily - Wednesday

MICCAI Daily: Were your fellow students and researchers supportive? Lei: I think for the most part it has been very collaborative and cordial. We all encourage and teach each other. MICCAI Daily: Was it difficult? Lei: Of course, it’s difficult because you want to do everything really well, and sometimes with time constraints, you can’t do everything as well as you would like to do it. MICCAI Daily: Why is everyone in your profession so overcommitted? What drives you? Lei: I think we’re mostly pretty optimistic. We’re excited about research and new ideas. We underestimate the time and overestimate how exciting it will be. MICCAI Daily: Does it make a difference to be a female in your field? How can the situation for female scientists improve? Lei: I don’t know if it’s different for a man. I think that there are definitely specific issues that are difficult for women in science. There are implicit attitudes toward women. In my opinion, most of the time aren’t trying to do anything intentionally. It’s a very complicated issue. I think that the efforts to include women and listen to their perspectives can help. Each gender has a different way of interacting and perceiving the world. In fields that have been traditionally male dominated, it’s up to women that are moving into the field to learn those cultures and try to get a voice like you are providing here. I think it’s really the implicit assumptions that are made about women, by men and even by women about women, that can be either internalized by women or prevent equal opportunities. When groups are proactive, like with MICCAI, or even having women represented in sessions or panels is really important because it gives women an opportunity to be somewhere where they might be left out of. Everyone wants to feel natural and to be able to be themselves in any situation. MICCAI Daily: Did you ever feel offended or embarrassed in a professional setting as a woman? Lei: I think that myself and other women in science have had to deal with sexual harassment or other biases. What I think is interesting is that most women seem to know this, but men don’t always realize. Maybe people are shy to say it. CVPR Daily: Thursday Women in Science 10 MICCAI Daily: Wednesday