Scientist wins top award
Rhodes University has produced yet another winner – Dr Adrienne Edkins, who won first prize in the Distinguished Young Women Scientists, Natural and Engineering Sciences category at the recent Women in Science (SAWISA) awards.
Edkins is thrilled to have won the prestigious award and acknowledges the value of the Department of Science and Technology’s initiative to encourage more women to enter the sciences. She says however, that it is ‘a pity’ a special effort is still necessary to recognise the achievements of women in science and to salute them as role models.
In spite of progress made in recent decades, there is still a lack of women scientists in the higher echelons of the science community. Edkins says that while the majority of her post graduate students are women, “… that doesn’t necessarily translate into them becoming senior professors and in leadership positions”.
Edkins says that awards such as the Women in Science are particularly important for the younger generation of female scientists and for the recognition of role models.
She says that such an event is not only important for scientists but also for members of the general public who would not otherwise have known about the work of her team.
Edkins is part of a group that works on biochemistry and molecular biology. The group’s research is at the level of cells and smaller with the view to better understand how cells function.
This is important because our bodies are made up of millions of cells and ultimately what happens to the cells can have an impact on the health and well-being of a person.
Edkins is examining the links between cancer biology and stem cell biology with a particular focus on how cells cope with stress. In a cruel twist of circumstances, the better cells are equipped to cope with stress, the more they help the cancer thrive.
Researchers are therefore looking at therapeutic strategies that can prevent cancer cells from being able to respond or cope with stress. Edkins believes that there is great potential for manipulating the stress response in cancer and stem cell treatments, but notes that these new therapies might only come on line in 15 years or so. She points out that much of the work carried out by her team is basic research – understanding the fundamental science necessary for product development. The actual drugs will probably be taken to market by commercial companies or by entities spun off from the university.
Edkins is a firm believer in scientists’ responsibility to communicate with the public. She says that most research is funded by government, which is supported by tax payers, so researchers owe it to the public to account for their work.
She feels that it is a privilege to be able to do research which is mainly funded by public money, “You are privileged to have the space of intellectual freedom and opportunity to really try out your ideas … but you owe it to the wider community to essentially communicate what you are doing”.
Furthermore, the public needs to know that scientists are “doing things appropriately and taking into consideration the impact of your work and its potential benefits – it’s not just an academic exercise.”
Public engagement is also valuable to broaden the horizons of scientists who all too often focus in great depth on a small piece of research forgetting that there is a world outside.
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