GUIS: Judith Homberg
Please join us for the first Growing Up in Science event of the new academic year! To celebrate our slow emergence from lockdown, we are delighted to welcome Judith Homberg into the interview chair. Tune in on September 23rd from the comfort of your attic, bedroom, or kitchen to hear about Judith’s interesting journey, past and present. Here are the specs:
Who:Prof. Judith Homberg (DCMN & RadboudUMC Department of Psychiatry)
When:Thursday September 23, 16:00-17.00h
Where: Zoom!
Meeting ID: 880 3581 9535
Passcode: 050192
As a teaser trailer, here’s the “official” story of Judith’s career:
Judith received her degree in Medical Biology from the Free University of Amsterdam in 1999 (cum laude), and then started her PhD in addiction research there. She was told not to get pregnant during her PhD, but did so anyway. She applied for her first postdoc position with a visible belly, and was told to come back when the baby was out, but then did find a position (and went on maternity leave immediately) at the more enlightened Hubrecht Institute at Utrecht University. Starting to see why Judith studies resilience?
In a very (re)productive period, Judith completed her PhD, had baby #2, received a Veni grant and started her own lab here in Nijmegen, where she established the Translational Neuroscience Unit after becoming frustrated with a lack of communication between animal researchers. She has since been awarded a Vidi grant, was promoted to full professor in 2019, and very recently obtained a prestigious Horizon 2020 Innove Training Network grant.
Curious what things are like behind the scenes for someone with such a successful scientific career? What is it like to build a scientific career and a family at the same time? How did not travelling abroad for a PhD or postdoc affect her career prospects (clearly not very much)? Why did she decide to become a vocal proponent of animal research? Do you want to know how she stays sane (hint; it involves getting up very early in the morning)? What keeps her up at night, what have been the struggles, the frustrations, and the joys?
Please join us so you can find out for yourself!
As always, you are very welcome (and encouraged!) to ask questions during the event via the chat, but if you feel a little shy you can also send questions in advance to Floortje (f.spronkers@donders.ru.nl). These questions will be anonymized and asked by the moderators during the discussion.
Looking forward to seeing you all in Zoom rectangles,
Alan, Hanneke, Floortje