Women in the Sciences

A Role Model for Young Scientists

"When I see [my students] going to literally the best graduate programs in the world and excelling, I know I've done my job well. I can't think of anyone who came out of my research labs who couldn't choose where she wanted to go. I know I will never get a Nobel Prize for my research, but I may train someone who does."
Joanne Berger-Sweeney
Associate Professor of Biology

The biomedical research community learned in 2001 that a long-awaited mouse model for Rett Syndrome, one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females, had been genetically engineered at MIT's Whitehead Institute and was ready for further study.

Thanks to Joanne Berger-Sweeney, an associate professor of biology recognized internationally for her work on brain disorders affecting memory, Wellesley students now have access to the mouse model and are participating in groundbreaking research.

Rett Syndrome is a debilitating disorder with a phenotype similar to autism. Children with Rett often exhibit behaviors such as repetitive hand movements, body rocking, hypoactivity and unsteady gait. It is one of the first autistic disorders for which researchers now understand its genetic basis.

For the last 20 years, Berger-Sweeney has been doing research on issues thought to be related to Rett, although research directly related to the disease is relatively new to her lab. "Two students in my lab are working with full-time research associates on this project," she says. "Within the last week I took one student to an international meeting in San Juan and she presented in poster format the results."

Berger-Sweeney says that her teaching at Wellesley is inextricably linked to her research. Ideas that develop from her research are explored in her student labs, and students naturally benefit from participating in that research.

"That's one of the nicest thing about coming to an institution that focuses on undergraduates," she says. "My research always involves two to five undergraduates during the year. Also, in the summer some do forefront research and participate in conferences around the world. And half the publications coming out of my lab do have students as co-authors."

The students who leave Berger-Sweeney's labs are positioned well to continue work in graduate research or in related fields. Berger-Sweeney frequently bumps into former students at national or international forums. Some continue to come to her for job references, contact information, or specific advice on scientific papers they are writing.

As a woman of color, Berger-Sweeney also has an opportunity to offer specific mentoring opportunities to other women of color. "There are not a lot of women of color in the field," she says. "I have been so pleased that in my 12 years here I have had eight black females in my lab who are now in medical school or in graduate school in neuroscience. So it's so clear that having a role model makes a difference. There are probably not many research universities in the country that generate that many black women in the medical and science fields."

For Berger-Sweeney, these are the experiences that maker her work worthwhile. "When I see them going to literally the best graduate programs in the world and excelling, I know I've done my job well. I can't think of anyone who came out of my research labs who couldn't choose where she wanted to go. I know I will never get a Nobel Prize for my research, but I may train someone who does."