Highlighting Women in Science: Service Through Scholarship
Award-winning professor of Biology at the University of North Georgia (UNG), Dr. Miriam Segura-Totten, describes her desire to work with and support undergraduate students in their scientific research as one of the main reasons for choosing to teach at the distinguished Military College of Georgia. In addition, she is an avid reader and traveler. Because she grew up in Puerto Rico, it is her favorite place to visit, but she also admits that Paris will always hold a special place in her heart.
As a teacher, mentor, and editor of a biological education journal, she has been able to combine her love for her field of Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology with her desire to help people, specifically students seeking their unique pathway in the sciences. Initially, UNG’s size offered her the familiarity of a smaller school with the ability to directly impact students' lives in her classes and under her advisement. Thirteen years later, UNG has expanded to five different campuses and more than 20,000 students. Dr. Segura-Totten believes the school retains many benefits of being a smaller school, partly because each campus is relatively small, there is a large commuter population, and student-to-professor ratios are still excellent.
Teaching and Service
Dr. Segura-Totten’s area of expertise includes cell and molecular biology. Originally, and for many years, her research subject matter focused on proteins of biomedical importance. This research is significant because when these proteins mutate in people, they can lead to a whole host of diseases. Understanding how these proteins affect disease can lead to potential treatments or cures. She was always interested in biomedical innovation. Even as a child, she always loved science and biology. She thought that she wanted to be a medical doctor until she discovered research and realized she could be the person creating the discoveries that drive medicine.
Dr. Segura-Totten’s average day involves teaching and completing her scholarly research and service to her institution and profession. On different days, she completes her teaching preparation, teaches a lecture or a lab, and dedicates time to her research in Biology Education. As part of her service, she might work on a manuscript for a journal or a grant. She also meets regularly with her research students. When possible, she tries to set aside one day a week for her scholarly research. As is standard in higher education, some days are more teaching-heavy. As an editor of a journal for biology education, part of her service revolves around reading and reviewing manuscripts and putting together special issues for the journal.
Biology Education Research
Over the years, Dr. Segura-Totten’s industry passion has evolved into the field of Biology Education research. While different from straight biochemical or biological analysis, her educational research still requires her to use the scientific method. Her studies evaluate different teaching methods in biology to determine if they are working and the learning gains associated with each delivery method. She is also interested in understanding specific processes, for example, having students read and use scientific journal articles in the classroom. She began to study how students cognitively complete this requirement and how their brains work to engage with, understand, and apply what is being read. This type of evaluation introduces the elements of psychology and social sciences into her scholarly focus. It also requires qualitative research by interviewing students to analyze information about how they interact with scholarly research articles as a part of their biological education. The next step compares the students’ responses to those of faculty members or experts in the field. The comparison helps determine the gaps between different levels of understanding and varying levels of expertise. The results help researchers understand what steps might be taken to progress undergraduate students from a beginner-level understanding to intermediate knowledge to eventual expert-level understanding. The information gathered from this study informs curriculum building in the classroom to support students in transitioning to the highest possible level of knowledge acquisition. As Dr. Segura-Totten’s research has shifted, so has her passion for educating students. She feels strongly about helping others understand biology so they can develop their passions in the field.
Importance of Diversity in Science
Two main reasons support why Dr. Segura-Totten believes it is essential for women to be active in the sciences. The first reason is that men, women, and people who don’t conform to a specific gender view things differently, allowing us all the capacity to tackle problems differently.
“Our brains are different; our lived experiences are different. When you have people working on a project, the more different kinds of brains you can get on that project, the better the project outcome will be. It’s hugely important that science is not dominated by one group over another, whether men, women, or people of a certain race or ethnicity. Diversity in all areas is crucial when problem-solving and moving science forward.” The second reason comes back to her passion for mentoring and inspiring others. Women are needed in science to have more women in science. She emphasizes the importance of young women seeing other women who have been successful in science and having them as role models. Dr. Segura-Totten believes that her upbringing helped her navigate her educational path as a woman in a male-dominated field. Her parents did not place a lot of emphasis on limitations around her being a woman or that the rules were different for her, so she was prepared when she chose science as her undergraduate degree and then her Ph.D. However, her experience informs her position on having strong, supportive women in the sciences as role models for younger women who may not have had the same upbringing as she did.
Follow Your Passion and Choose Wisely
To anyone considering a career in science, not just women, Dr. Segura-Totten emphasizes the importance of following your passion. “If you follow your passions, you will work much harder, but you will do much better.” Speaking directly to women in science, she encourages them not to limit themselves because they are women and to find their mentors. In her opinion, working in science can be done without mentorship, but it feels much less challenging when you know someone is behind you, looking out for you.
Dr. Segura-Totten mentions that with a demanding career in science, the need for work/life balance means choosing a partner or spouse who will be supportive and available to walk that path. She mentions that this idea might be less of a consideration for younger people, but it is worth mentioning as an important factor in choosing a career. It becomes about prioritizing what is important in life. Early on, Dr. Segura-Totten focused on her career and establishing herself before she and her husband had their son. She watched many colleagues try to do it all at the same time. Some were successful, and some struggled, but she notes a natural ebb and flow to one’s life, even in the career setting. When having and raising small children, there is less time to dedicate to career pursuits. As a family grows older, there is more time for professional life. There are stages in everyone’s life, and remembering that helps keep perspective that sometimes the balance will tip more toward personal and other times it will tilt more toward professional.
Rewards in Legacy
Dr. Segura-Totten considers helping others the most rewarding part of her academic work. Because her current scholarship revolves around biological education and how to best support student learning, she makes this scholarly passion applicable to her everyday life by mentoring her students. She has a particular affinity for finding those students who are “diamonds in the rough.” She describes these students as super bright but maybe not realizing it. Or perhaps a student is hard-working and organized, but their grades don’t show it. She enjoys finding those students, helping them figure out what they want to do, and helping them shine brighter. She feels that is her legacy.
Women in Science Article Series
In this article series, The Lab Depot hopes to honor the International Day of Women and Girls in Science by building an awareness of the women doing the work every day. Mothers, daughters, wives, friends, caregivers, and colleagues. These are fascinating stories of commitment, dedication, transition, and a great love for the potential to make the world better, found in all sciences. We hope you enjoy learning more about these intelligent chemistry, biology, physics, and engineering contributors. If you are a woman in science or know one whom you greatly respect, reach out and let us know! Tell us about your path, or hers, using the comments section on any of our Women in Science social media posts, or send an email to our Communications Officer, Susie Csomor: [email protected].