Joanna Dabrowska, PhD, PharmD

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got to where you are now.
I obtained my PharmD in Poland at the Wroclaw Medical University. I was very interested in Clinical Pharmacology, but there were not many options to pursue this specialty in Poland. Later, I pursued my PhD in Neuropharmacology at the Medical University of Silesia. I came to Emory University where I completed my postdoc in Dr. Donald Rainnie's laboratory, which was very neuroscience driven. There, I worked heavily on amygdala functional neuroanatomy. I wanted to gain more experience with electrophysiology and neuroendocrinology, so I sought out a K99 grant, which allowed me the funds and training component to gain experience in electrophysiology. This paved a path towards my independence and opened the door for faculty positions. I eventually accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at RFUMS.

Who has had the biggest impact on your career?
There is no single person who had the greatest impact on my choices; I think my career has been shaped by learning from different people. I figured out how I wanted to emulate certain people; in other circumstances, I learned what I didn't want to bring into my own lab. I took the best and worst from everyone, rather than one specific person. I was strongly influenced scientifically by my two neuropeptide-passionate advisers, Tig Rainnie and my co-mentor, Larry Young. My main support actually came from outside of research; an Emory University Career Advisor motivated me the most and was crucial in helping me assemble my K99 application. My initial program officer from NIH was so helpful and passionate about her job that she helped me beyond grant support. She was someone I would talk to privately about where to take a faculty position. She gave unconventional support and advice that actually went against what my advisor at the time was suggesting.

What is your greatest scientific accomplishment?
It is hard to pick one specific accomplishment, as I believe my career is a bag of accomplishments and failures, small and big; if I had to pick one, then it would be my first grant - K99 award. This is mostly because it happened at a time when I wasn't really sure if I wanted to even be a Pl. At this time, I was also very driven by my side projects that I wanted to pursue, but didn't have time or resources for. So, I put together this grant by myself with very little input from my advisor. When I was funded on my first submission, it changed the whole trajectory of my career. I thought to myself, "Wow, maybe I can actually try doing this!" and I began to apply for jobs. At this point, I was already pursuing more independent research; obtaining this award solidified my drive to pursue faculty position. I believe 'accomplishment' is a continuum and a learning curve, not a single event.

What is one of your biggest failures in science and how did you overcome it?
When I first started applying for faculty positions during the first year of my K99 Fellowship, I had many job interviews, but no job offers. I was very stressed out that I had no offers and began to doubt if I was going to be able to get a job given this level of competitiveness. I took a step back to identify what I could do to improve. At this point, I realized that I didn't really know how to present myself well and had no formal training in presentation skills; this was not part of my PhD training in Poland. I suddenly realized that I was missing this critical component of my training, so I took time to learn how to present my science in a confident and clear manner and in a way that was easier to digest. I received great advice from a colleague outside of science, a woman in business. She told me to be genuine, which, at the time, blew my mind. She told me to focus on connecting with people and being myself rather than to try to sell my science. I should be presenting as myself and not pretending to be something that I am not. With each subsequent interview, I felt more confident. By the second year of the interview process, I was in a much better place.

How do you balance home and work life? And how has COVID impacted this?
Work-life balance is very tricky. I had someone tell me that they try to address this as work-life integration, instead, because they aren't on opposing sides. I try to be present both at home and at work so that I can be more efficient with both. When COVID first hit, I had a 7-month-old at home and it felt impossible to do the basics. I had already taken on the primary caregiver role during my maternity leave and on weekends, but COVID was the breaking point in which I realized that this wasn't sustainable. So my partner and I split the day in half so each of us had our own time; this allowed us divide responsibilities in a more equitable way. I know that this isn't always the case with other women in academia and that many are having a hard time during these critical periods of their career. Some labs have the funding and manpower to work through the pandemic, but for people transitioning or early on in their career, this is an "at risk" time. The NIH gave a $50,000 extension to my ROl grant, which was helpful, but we need something more than this one time short-term solution. This was also 'at risk' time for me as my first ROl grant was coming to an end in the middle of the pandemic. I had a great team in my lab that took years to build and I was very concerned that I'd have to let people go. Joggling (juggling while jogging) a toddler with sleep regressions and grants submissions in the midst of the pandemic was challenging to say the least. I remember sitting in my daughter's bedroom at night, trying to get her to sleep, and panicking that I still have to cut half a page of my grant for the next day submission. I am happy to report that after two submissions and several sleep regressions, my ROl renewal is now funded. This was mainly due to the extraordinary work of people in my lab, who collected exceptional preliminary data in the midst of the pandemic. The notice of the award came on my daughter's third birthday - this tells me that the work-life integration might be possible after all, with the help of my supportive partner, who truly shares childcare responsibilities with me.

Have you ever faced prejudices being a woman?
I experienced a lot of sexism as a PhD student and didn't even realize it. There would be fleeting compliments that were clearly inappropriate and incongruous attention during conferences, but at the time, it was so heavily incorporated in the culture that I thought nothing of it. Nobody complained or even talked about it, despite it clearly being a problem. There was also a time when I was working at a biotech company (with a PharmD degree) and my boss came to me to make him a cup of coffee, while there were 2 other male colleagues in the room with me. It was just how you were treated as younger women in these companies and I realized then that I was not going to stay here. At my faculty job, I haven't experienced a lot of obvious sexism, at least not until I became a mom. I started to feel differently when I came back after maternity leave. I was pumping and I felt overloaded with some of the in-person meetings and service work, which would normally be ok to handle, but because of my new situation, it felt insane. I would run to my office to pump milk, then run to next meeting for months on end when I asked my supervisors to help. I have to pay a high price to do what I wanted to do and it added to my stress level.

What tips or advice would you give to other women that want to pursue a faculty position? 
Definitely follow your passion and drive for research science and medicine. It is normal to doubt yourself, but what helps me is to know that everyone doubts themselves and it is good to remember that. I know that I am not the only person that has imposter syndrome and just because I feel that way, doesn't mean that I am an impostor or I don't deserve to be where I am today. I would also say to follow your gut as well as your passion; I didn't realize how important having a good feeling about a place or choice really is. Follow your instincts, whether it's something good or bad.

What are some fun facts about yourself that are not on your resume?
I have a 3-year-old daughter and I am loving being a mother. I also love hard rock music. My favorite band is Faith No More (favorite album: King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime). When I want to dance, I go with my beloved Prince (favorite album: Musicology).