Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists

In recognition of Women's History Month, The New York Academy of Sciences is proud to host Ellen Daniell, who will discuss her latest book Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists, which tells the story of a support group that includes world famous scientists: Mimi Koehl, Elizabeth Blackburn, Christine Guthrie, and Judith Klinman. These distinguished individuals are at the top of their field and have let their struggles and fears be presented in this book for the motivation and help of others with comparable professional ambitions.

For more than 25 years, this professional problem-solving group has empowered its members by providing practical and emotional support. The objective of "Group," as Ellen Daniell and six other members call their bimonthly gatherings, is cooperation in a competitive world.

Each of the high-achieving individuals in Group (including members of the National Academy of Sciences, a senior scientist at a prestigious research institute, and university professors and administrators) has found the support of the others to be an essential part of her own success.

Daniell's objective is to encourage those who feel isolated or stressed in a work or academic setting to consider the benefits of such a group—a group in which everyone is on your side. Her book provides detailed examples of how members help one another navigate career setbacks or other difficulties. She shows that group support, discussion, and application of common experience bring to light practical solutions and broader perspectives. Daniell also offers advice and practical guidelines for those who would like to establish a group of their own.

Ellen Daniell is a writer and consultant. She was assistant professor of molecular biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and has held management positions in human resources and patent licensing in the biotechnology industry.

In an era in which science, especially biological science, tends to be portrayed as a series of exciting, mind-boggling, diesase-curing, and even ethically disturbing discoveries, this book returns attention to the human strains of being a scientist, especially a woman scientist, in an academic environment that increasingly places extraordinary demands on its denizens.

-Harold Varmus, President, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center