Congrats to these two Superstars!

We are so pleased to see our colleagues, Dr Mar Quiroga and Priyanka Pillai become Superstars of STEM, joining sixty other women in a two-year leadership and science communication program run by Science and Technology Australia. Here, Mar and Priyanka explain their passion for diversity in STEM.

Congratulations, Mar!

What do you love most or feel passionate about in your specialist area?

I love using mathematical and computational techniques to address problems in all academic domains, especially if they have real-world applications. However, I am most passionate about sharing my technical knowledge with researchers and students, inspiring them to take their own data journey just one step further at a time.

What do you think has been your defining STEM moment?

A few years ago, while based at the Burnet Institute, I developed a mathematical model in collaboration with the World Bank to optimise the geographic allocation of tuberculosis medical diagnostic equipment in Vietnam. We didn’t have a lot of time, and we didn’t have all of the data we would have liked to base this model on, but I realized that any evidence-based decision had to be better than none in assigning this equipment to hospitals with regard for disease prevalence and travel times to hospitals.

What do you see as the biggest barrier to women in STEM?

I think the biggest barrier for female identifying STEM professionals is the toxic and often exclusionary culture that is not supportive of or attractive to women and minorities. People priding themselves on working 60+ hours per week – including evenings and weekends, the focus on tearing early career professionals down to build their “resilience”, overemphasizing competition over collaboration, the list is endless!

Great work, Priyanka!

What do you love most or feel passionate about in your specialist area?

I have been very passionate about how data informs policy and strategies ever since I started working in the area of infectious disease preparedness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been fortunate enough to get near-real time insights into how every piece of data/information played a critical role in the response.

What do you think has been your defining STEM moment?

I was honoured to be one of the speakers at an event hosted by Captial City LLEM and Engineers Australia in 2017. High school students, parents, and teachers alike all came along to hear from women currently working in STEM. I was representing the In2Science mentoring program and shared stories from my own journey into science, as well as my experiences as a mentor with In2science. The positive response from parents made me feel grateful to have opportunities where I can inspire young girls to pursue careers in STEM.

What do you see as the biggest barrier to women in STEM?

We need more women from diverse backgrounds in leadership positions who can mentor aspiring women who want to pursue a career in STEM. It is particularly important for talented women from migrant communities to be able to relate with women represented in the media.