4 minute read
Irene Tracey
irene tracey nominated by emily holmes
During her undergraduate studies in Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, Irene became fascinated with the notion that you could probe biochemical mechanisms in living animals, including humans, noninvasively using rapidly developing technologies. She remained in Oxford for her DPhil as part of a group pioneering the use of Magnetic Resonance methods to study muscle and brain biochemistry before heading to Harvard Medical School in Boston for two years as a postdoctoral research fellow. It was there she began using the relatively new technique of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and was introduced to the field of pain research. She returned to the UK in 1996 and co-founded the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB). In 2001 she became tenured at Oxford as a University lecturer and college tutorial fellow, and in 2005 she became the Director of FMRIB. She was awarded the title Professor of Pain Research followed by appointment to a Statutory Chair as Nuffield Professor of Anaesthetic Science in 2007. Emily Holmes, who’s passing on the heirloom, said, “I first met Irene in Oxford in 2007 and was instantly struck by her passion for science and keen support of other women in science. She has an outstanding reputation for creative, interdisciplinary science and for showing strong leadership. She is passionate about training future researchers and has facilitated people within her group and beyond to take important career steps in science. Irene has created a vibrant, exciting and supportive research culture for her group, and her enthusiasm for research is simply contagious and this undoubtedly contributes markedly to the group’s success.”
Advertisement
Straight away, Irene says that she’s had a privileged journey to her current position because she’s had huge amounts of encouragement and support from colleagues and superb mentors – both male and female. “Also, I’ve been fortunate compared to most women in that throughout my early tenured life, two of the most senior female Professors and brilliant scientists at Oxford – Professor Dame Kay Davies and Professor Angela Vincent - happened to be heads of my department. That was highly unusual. It gave me the opportunity not only to benefit from their fantastic support and mentorship, but also to observe any differences between female and male scientific leadership - if one can generalise about such things.”
Changing Dynamics
She says it’s interesting how the dynamics of a meeting often change when senior, vocal women are present – especially if a woman chairs the discussion. ‘When you have a more female environment, it tends to become more relaxed yet without a loss of efficiency. There appears to be a less competitive tone. It’s more personal and perhaps that creates an atmosphere where people feel more comfortable expressing highrisk statements.’
Irene Tracey
Not Institutions Fault
Are the science institutions at fault? “No. I firmly believe that we don’t have endemic chauvinism in our academic institutions – far from it in my experience. A broad set of factors contributes to women leaving science or progressing less quickly to professorships. A significant one is that at the stage when you’re developing your career, you might also be at your busiest in terms of child rearing or looking after dependent parents. Society tends to expect these roles to fall predominantly on women. If they can’t put themselves forward for various roles, they can rapidly become “invisible.””
But it’s becoming increasingly acceptable to share such responsibilities between partners, which will help increase the pool of available women who can help shape the direction of our academic institutions. “Changing the laws and institutional attitudes so that couples can choose what’s best for them would open up a lot of changes. People would be surprised at how many men would want the opportunity,” she says.
Generational Clash
Admonished regularly by her strident daughter over the fact that her mother’s generation still even talk about the gender issue, Irene predicts a clash between the gender-blind younger generations and the more traditional attitudes of the work place. “We’ve got a whole generation of kids coming out who have really never thought about or experienced gender bias. And my goodness, they’re not prepared for it. I suspect they’re not going to take it lying down and so the pace of change will have to quicken.”
Irene has observed that women rarely apply for awards, prizes and leadership roles compared to men. They seem to be less comfortable putting themselves forward for possible rejection. “It would be interesting to know why this is the case. It’s something we’ve got to work on with our girls and women: how to compete effectively, and to see competition and rejection as a normal part of the job.”
“I work in pain and we use the active ingredient of chilli peppers a lot in our research, but I’m also obsessed with chilli-based spicy food – like everyone in my group – not that it’s a condition for successful recruitment…”
