Celebrating MDR's Women - Lynn Maslen
To mark Women at Imperial Week, we interviewed three of MDR's outstanding female staff. In our final interview, we spoke to Lynn Maslen.
Support for women throughout their career journey is critical to creating gender equality in the workplace. To understand the experiences, support and issues women may face as they progress through their careers, we spoke with three MDR staff members, each from a different part of the Department, about their career journey.
Lynn Maslen, Centre Manager of the MRC-NIHR National Phenome Centre (NPC)
Tell us a bit about your career, background, and current role
Can you share a time when you felt supported in your career journey by a colleague or mentor?
I was able to discover that I was actually very good at supporting others to do their research and could gain as much satisfaction in that role as I could in undertaking the research myself. Lynn Maslen
The most influential people in my career have to be Professor Patricia Price and Professor Eric Aboagye. When they recruited me for an initial temporary contract they spotted abilities and talents in me for Administrative and Research Management, which I had not seen and opened up an area of work I did not even know existed. I was intent on being a lab-based researcher, however, with my area of interest in plant genetics having had a moratorium placed upon it at that time I did not know what to do instead. Through their support and encouragement that I had specific talents which meant I could be involved in research in a different way, this led me to explore this as a career. I was able to discover that I was actually very good at supporting others to do their research and could gain as much satisfaction in that role as I could in undertaking the research myself. I also credit numerous Departmental Managers who I have seen actively manage their relationships with senior academic and central Faculty leadership, which made me confident to stand my own ground and acknowledge my own areas of expertise in interactions with people in more senior positions.
What has been the proudest achievement of your career so far?
The National Phenome Centre was grant funded for the first five years, after which it had to be self-sufficient and bring all the money in from paid work that it needs to pay the bills. Pretty much everyone felt this was impossible, there were no other labs in Imperial which had ever had to do this so I had no one to ask and learn from and negative attitudes surrounded me whenever I did try to reach out for support. The fact that the Centre passed the 10-year mark last year and is now so busy we are finding it difficult to support all the work people approach us with is such an achievement and I am so proud of every single member of staff whose work and input have allowed the Centre to not just survive but thrive.
Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome or self-doubt in your career? How did you overcome it, and what support did you find helpful?
I experience imposter syndrome regularly. I do not have a doctorate in the area I work in and yet I am often called on to provide detailed support which needs me to be confident and understand the science I work in. I therefore take the time to learn the basics of the area I work in (which has varied from radiochemistry to MRI scanning to metabolomics). I’m not an expert but I take the time to learn enough to understand what researchers need and are talking about and I continue to want to learn and improve my knowledge to be able to provide the best support I can.
What role can people in senior positions play in supporting and advocating for women's career advancement and equality in the workplace?
What advice would you give to women who are just starting their careers, based on your own experiences?
Never stop wanting to learn, the more you know the more confident you can become and that self-assurance is the best way to make sure you’ll be happy to raise your hand and take on those areas of extra responsibility or the next stage of your career.
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