@article{3ef8691bcc7e4bf59a11960987fb21be,
title = "Diversity Is a Strength of Cancer Research in the U.S.",
abstract = "We stand against racism and discrimination in cancer research in the U.S. By sharing the stories of scientists from different ethnicities, identities, and national origins, we want to promote change through mentoring, active participation, and policy changes and to inspire the next generation of cancer researchers: we make better science together.",
author = "Miriam Merad and Posey, {Avery D.} and Ofelia Olivero and Singh, {Pankaj K.} and Ghassan Mouneimne and Lingyin Li and Wallace, {La Shanale M.} and Hayes, {Tikvah K.}",
note = "Funding Information: My great-grandfather, a politician/revolutionist, established many schools in my hometown, Xi'an, China, among which was the first school for girls, where his three daughters studied. My grandmother was an award-winning elementary school teacher and raised my mother to crush gender barriers. My mother was an accountant, good with numbers, and I grew up seeing her work relentlessly. My aunt came to the U.S. to study immunology as part of the first group of Chinese students since the wars. So of course I was not raised to accept that “literature is for girls, math is for boys,” as my elementary school math teacher said. After the math and physics departments of the University of Science and Technology of China rejected me, I majored in polymer physics and joined the lab of Yi Xie, a world-renowned female scientist. When I came to the U.S. for graduate school, my advisor, Laura Kiessling, a certified genius, always supported me. My postdoctoral advisor, Tim Mitchison, an immigrant himself and known for his support of women, let me be myself and told me to never change even when I showed my rebellious nature. He helped me get my green card, which allowed me to become a U.S. citizen later. I was recruited to the Stanford ChEM-H Institute among a group of misfits from different backgrounds and disciplines who finally found where they belonged. My story is a mixture of rebellious nature, luck, and support. As immigrants, our risk-taking nature enable us to join the workforce of cancer research; we get used to the feeling of loneliness in uncharted research territories. Our resourcefulness helps us think outside the box, and our humility prepares us to accept the unknowns and frequent failures, but our relentless optimism ultimately keeps our eyes on the horizon. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Elsevier Inc.",
year = "2020",
month = sep,
day = "14",
doi = "10.1016/j.ccell.2020.08.018",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "38",
pages = "297--300",
journal = "Cancer Cell",
issn = "1535-6108",
publisher = "Cell Press",
number = "3",
}