In the world of academia, most researchers are motivated by the pursuit of knowledge and a desire to understand the complexities of life. As challenging and demanding as this career path is for everyone already, for women in science, it often comes with extra obstacles and barriers.
In this article, we present two remarkable scientists who aim to raise awareness to gender imbalances in the scientific world. Meet Senka Holzer and Nikole Byrne, both accomplished heart researchers at the Medical University of Graz.
Profile Senka Holzer
After completing her MSc education in Biochemistry in Novi Sad, Serbia, Prof. Senka Holzer embarked on her academic journey by joining the international PhD Program “Molecular Medicine” at the Medical University of Graz. Her research during this time focused on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of subcellular ion handling in different compartments of isolated cardiac myocytes.
Senka Holzer’s innovative work on nuclear Ca2+ signaling during the onset and development of heart failure earned her a coveted three-year fellowship funded by the FWF (Austrian Science Fund) shortly after she completed her dissertation. As part of this fellowship, she conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California Davis under the guidance of Donald Bers, a leading expert in ion homeostasis and genetic reprogramming in cardiomyocytes.
Returning to the Medical University of Graz as a senior-postdoc through the FWF Elise Richter Programme funding scheme, she established her own research group in 2020 with the support of BioTechMed-Graz after winning the Young Researcher Groups grant. Today, she holds the position of Associate Professor of Molecular PathoCardiology at the Department of Cardiology and the Gottfried Schatz Research Center of the Medical University of Graz.
Senka Holzer’s primary research interest lies in subcellular ion signaling in cardiac (patho)physiology. Her key contributions to the field include advancing methodology for quantifying Ca2+ signals in different subcellular compartments of isolated cardiomyocytes, characterizing early changes in nuclear Ca2+ signaling and transcriptional dysregulation in cardiomyopathies, and identifying perinuclear regions essential microdomains for transcriptional regulation.
“For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the biochemical connection between our minds and bodies. What began as a youthful curiosity grew into a life-long drive to understand how the connection works.”
Profile Nikole Byrne
Nikole Byrne's scientific journey started from her childhood, being an inquisitive child and always asking "why". Nikole Byrne excelled in chemistry and eventually pursued a Bachelor's degree in the subject. Her hands-on approach to learning led her to gravitate towards sciences that involved laboratory work.
Nikole Byrne’s research career began at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, where she worked under the guidance of Jason Dyck, focusing on cardiac energy metabolism in heart failure. Her PhD thesis delved into the treatment potential of the SGLT2 inhibitor, Empagliflozin, in a non-diabetic mouse model of heart failure. Her work in this area shed light on the potential therapeutic applications of Empaglifozin beyond its established benefits in diabetic patients.
Having completed her PhD, Nikole Byrne’s journey took her to the Medical University of Graz, where she joined the research group of Heiko Bugger. There, she explores the role of NAD+ metabolism and NAD+ dependent enzymes, Sirtuins, in various models of cardiovascular disease. Her research spans heart failure, myocardial infarction, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and atherosclerosis, with the goal of developing translational research that contributes to better understanding the mechanisms underlying these conditions.
Currently, Nikole Byrne’s main project focuses on investigating the role of NAD+ in leukocytes and its potential contribution to the development of diabetes-related atherosclerosis. She explores how NAD+ depletion, occurring under diabetic conditions, affects leukocyte function and drives plaque progression. Particularly exciting is the potential of restoring NAD+ levels using nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) supplementation in a diabetic model of atherosclerosis.
Nikole Byrne is passionate about translational research, and she envisions a future where her work on naturally occurring substances like NMN pave the way for early prevention strategies in clinical settings.
“[…] I am really inspired by understanding how things work, and not just seeing the clinical outcomes. Therefore, I especially love using basic science tools to better investigate the mechanisms behind how supplements/drugs are actually working, so that we can design more precise strategies for the future.”
Women in Science
Together, Senka Holzer and Nikole Byrne offer the course “Women in Science: Challenges and opportunities” as an elective for PhD and doctoral students at the Medical University of Graz. In this blocked course, students are encouraged to discuss gender issues in academia and share their personal experiences in an informal setting, while being presented with facts and statistics on the topic. Senka Holzer and Nikole Byrne provide insight into what specific obstacles but also chances women might face in academia, and above all aim to raise awareness about this topic in both women and men.
Personal experiences, challenges and formative incidents as women in science
In the early stages of their scientific careers, both Senka Holzer and Nicole Byrne recall being rather naïve about the topic of gender imbalance in academia, but along the way found themselves repeatedly in eye-opening situations. For Senka Holzer, starting her maternity leave and especially resuming her career afterwards proved to be a pivotal experience, when for instance she found out that she was removed from a project she had been working on for six years, “because you know, we didn’t know if you will return and we sort of forgot you”. Additionally, she recalls many inappropriate comments, such as "certainly fitting the phenotype of my PI", or that "women do great science during their PhD, but after they have kids, they just can't make anything work".
“… and being called ‘opinionated’, ‘aggressive’, ‘bossy’, ‘rude’, ‘quarrelsome’, ‘too ambitious’ and what not when I raised any of the issues mentioned above.”
Contrary, Nikole Byrne considers herself one of the lucky women who did not encounter any bad experiences during her research training. For her, never finding female scientists in higher positions around her however proved to be a challenge, as she did not have an up-close idea of the obstacles she might face later in her career.
Elective: Women in Science - Challenges and opportunities
The above-mentioned eye-opening experiences and exchange with other female colleagues motivated Senka Holzer to create the elective “Women in Science – Challenges and Opportunities”, in order to provide a safe space for open conversations about the topic for others. By joining in the elective, Nikole Byrne wishes to provide the female mentorship and awareness she was missing in her scientific training.
“Even if women are not in a position to mentor now, I wanted to educate them of different ways they could make a difference, even if it is as simple as talking more about the topic, in hopes of bringing awareness to future students, and hopefully also men!”
Exemplary challenges for women in science and the “leaky pipeline”
A prominent concept of gender issues particularly in the life sciences is the so-called “leaky pipeline”. This metaphor represents how in academia, more than half of MSc and PhD recipients are female. However, when moving up towards more powerful positions, the female dropout rate increases, with only a small minority of the highest ranks being occupied by women. Speaking from her personal experience, Nikole Byrne sees the main reason behind this in the lack of female mentorship. As most powerful positions are held by men, the people in lower ranks receiving the most personal support are in turn men, and so the gender imbalance is carried on. It would be crucial that upcoming women obtain the same mentorship as their male colleagues, which would slowly result in more women accessing higher ranks and passing on guidance to younger women. Another major factor, that Senka Holzer points out, is the impact of wanting or having children on a woman’s career. This makes pursuing a career objectively more difficult for women than for men (regardless of how involved men are), while the career expectations remain the same for all.
“In my particular case, it felt as if I was in the race (for the permanent position), biking uphill and thought I’m doing great, and then (after childbirth) I had to continue biking up with a bicycle trailer that weighs 50 kg. While doing it and giving my best, young men started passing, obviously much faster at that particular moment. I’m not surprised that (many) women leave ‘the race’ at this stage.”
Advice for young women wanting to pursue an academic career
When asked what they would point out to young women going after a career in science, both Nikole Byrne and Senka Holzer emphasize on the importance of finding a trustworthy mentor, ideally someone sharing similar values. As this does not necessarily have to be a direct supervisor, Nikole Byrne encourages networking at an early career stage already, to find like-minded colleagues and counselors. As a woman in science, Senka Holzer regrets not taking advice on gender issues early in her career more seriously, instead of brushing it off because it was not important to her at the time. Nikole Byrne wishes she had been confronted with the topic of work-life-balance earlier, especially in the context of being a woman and wanting a family.
“I always had the idea that after finishing a PhD, it would get ‘easier’ and the time would be more appropriate. However, once I started my postdoc, I quickly realized that it does not get easier, and you must actively create a balance that works best for you. Importantly, this is going to be different for everyone. Most importantly, there is never going to be a perfect time.”
The course “Women In Science: Challenges and opportunities” is offered as an elective for PhD and doctoral students at the Medical University of Graz every summer semester.
