"Women must be aware that they can hold the positions they want"
Luciana Dzik, Application Professional at Sartorius in São Bernardo do Campo
Luciana Dzik has fought her way through in life sciences, a field rather dominated by male colleagues. Today, as an Application Professional at Sartorius in Brazil, she feels she is where she wants to be. Learn what obstacles she found on her way and still sees for women in the industry - and how a project trip to Antarctica helped her overcome these.
This article is posted on Sartorius Blog.
Luciana, please tell us a bit about you and your role at Sartorius.
I joined Sartorius in the course of the acquisition of Biological Industries in 2020. At first, I continued my work with the cell culture media, but since I had worked with some of our bioanalytics equipment, the Incucyte, during my PhD, I also took responsibility for the bioanalytics portfolio quickly.
As an application professional I use my technical-scientific knowledge to understand the customer’s projects and processes and identify the biggest bottlenecks in these processes. And when I say “I,” actually I am referring to a whole team from the commercial and marketing area. We work together collaboratively, discussing the best strategy case-by-case and finding the best solutions for the customer together.
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Why did you pursue a career in STEM?
Honestly? I wanted to find the cure for cancer. Over time, I realized that this takes much more than a Master's project or a Ph.D. thesis, so I started searching for jobs that would keep me next to scientists and let me interact with them, helping with their research and goals.
I discovered that, after the bench, the project would need to be scaled up to an industrial level and go over clinical and feasibility studies. I realized that the university would not allow me to follow the process as a whole. That is how I came to the technical-commercial area. I wanted to use my technical knowledge in the daily lives of scientists, and also monitor the process from beginning to end. Currently, I’m in touch with people from universities to the pharmaceutical industry. This allows me not only to be a scientist, but also a solutions provider.
Honestly? I wanted to find the cure for cancer.
Luciana Dzik, Application Professional for Bioanalytics, Cell Line, Media & Testing Solutions and Advanced Therapies
Where do you see the biggest challenges for women in STEM?
One of the biggest challenges in a scientific career is that there’s a history of it being dominated by men.
An example would be the discovery of the structure of DNA, which is credited to James Watson and Francis Crick, two male scientists who published their work on the double helix structure of DNA in 1953. However, the discovery of the chemical nature of DNA and the fact that it carries genetic information is largely attributed to Rosalind Franklin, a female scientist who used X-ray crystallography to capture images of DNA. Franklin's work was crucial in helping Watson and Crick develop their model, although she was not given credit for her contribution at the time.
Women entered the field gradually, as they were often underestimated both intellectually and in relation to other capacities. What I see today is that women, in addition to having technical knowledge, also have many soft skills that are important in managers’ positions today, such as resilience, planning skills, vision of the future.
So, I really think that the biggest challenge for many women in STEM is not to reach a leadership position but to stay in an environment where distrust about your abilities is still present.
The biggest challenge for many women in STEM is not to reach a leadership position but to stay in an environment where distrust about your abilities is still present.
Luciana Dzik, Application Professional for Bioanalytics, Cell Line, Media & Testing Solutions and Advanced Therapies
What changed the game in your career?
I recall two events. The first was a strong confirmation of my technical capacity: I was invited to take part in a project that involved researchers going to Antarctica. This was a very, very distant dream. Only very few people ever get approval to participate in this program, and the fact that I was invited led me to see that people really believed and trusted my knowledge.
And a second event took place just when I was at the end of my PHD. I was invited to participate in a “b2c” project. I remember I arrived at the office and two people asked me a lot of questions about cell culture media. I answered them quite naturally – not knowing I was talking to the VP and the CEO of Biological Industries. After the event, I received a proposal letter, and that's how I was hired as the first employee of Biological Industries Brazil.
The fact that I was invited to a project in Antarctica led me to see that people really believed and trusted my knowledge.
Luciana Dzik, Application Professional for Bioanalytics, Cell Line, Media & Testing Solutions and Advanced Therapies
What is the importance of a work environment that embraces equity and how are you helping to cultivate this in your area?
It is important for women to be aware that they can hold the positions they want. Studies show that women have particular strengths that make them successful managers: resilience, empathy, flexibility, multitasking. They can encourage people’s participation in discussions, bringing the team together.
Personally, I believe that I am observant, curious, and empathetic, so I’m always trying to know more and more about others and understand them. This way, I’m always trying to make decisions that meet the needs of everyone involved. And I try to work like this not only with “my team”, but also with other colleagues.
Where do you think are we on the path to equality?
What contributed to women holding important positions in science and technology were the women who came before us, who remained resilient and continued to believe that one day, society would see their value and recognize them.
About me, to be honest, I've had moments – mainly during my university journey – when people questioned my technical capacity and ended up choosing less technically qualified over me. However, over time, I managed to get around these situations. I consider myself lucky to think that today I am where I want to be, and I feel even luckier to know that Sartorius encourages women to take on positions like mine.
In my opinion, what would allow more women to successfully access technical roles is implementing actions that help break obstacles: This starts with the selection process, which should be more balanced, creating internal programs that encourage the participation of women in positions dominated by men, thereby creating a reference that other women can be inspired by.
