March is celebrated as Women’s History Month, and it is also a month dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments of women in science. We at JoVE take the opportunity to feature an extraordinary scientist, Dr. Kathleen Rubins.
Our current understanding of the natural world is deeply enhanced by key contributions of several remarkable women in science. Many of these women defied norms and established perceptions just to gain a foothold in academic research. In this blog, we focus on the accomplishments of Dr. Kathleen Rubins whose quest for knowledge led her from the scientific hubs of USA to the vast expanse of space.
Dr. Rubins was fascinated by science from an early age and received a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Stanford University, where she and her colleagues were the first to establish an animal model for smallpox infection (Rubins K.H. et al., 2004). This study laid the foundation for a better understanding of viruses and their mechanisms of action. Soon after, in 2007, she accepted the prestigious Fellow/Principal Investigator position at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT. The Rubins Lab conducted cutting-edge research focused on host-pathogen interactions and viral mechanisms for regulating host cell mRNA. Her work on viral mechanisms are highlighted in the three-part JoVE article series published by her lab in 2009:
While several prestigious awards and accolades came her way during her career as a microbiologist, Dr. Rubins in 2009, achieved what is a dream to many. Out of 3,500 applicants, she was one of 14 people selected for NASA Astronaut Group 20. She is the 60th woman to walk in space and in August 2016 she became the first person ever to sequence DNA in space, thereby laying the foundation for possible detection of life elsewhere in the universe.
Her scientific career and accomplishments are not just an inspiration but also a testament to the limitless potential that lies within women all over the world.