Learn more about Stephani Page, Biochemistry and Biophysics graduate student, via Nature blog’s Soapbox Science as she speaks out about her experiences and the importance of science advocacy.
I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. One of the labs in my department actually assisted in the development of a chemotherapy drug prescribed for my father’s pancreatic cancer. For many years I had struggled to explain to my family (made up of homemakers, lawyers, career military, teachers, nurses, etc.) what I do as a scientist and why what scientists do is important. Suddenly, my family needed no further explanation.