Parenting Pathways: Abinaya Ravisankar

Real Stories from Science Moms

Scientists devote an enormous amount of time and energy to their research. Parents commit themselves to the needs and well-being of their children. What happens when these two worlds come together and scientists, particularly women, become parents? How do we navigate the world of motherhood while maintaining and building a career in science? The Parenting Pathways Blog asks real women in science to share their stories and give personal insights into navigating a career in science as a mother.

Meet Abinaya Ravisankar, Ph.D. Candidate, Neuroscience Graduate Program at OHSU

Tell us about your scientific background, the path to your current position, and how having children fit into your career.I grew up in Chennai, a coastal city in Southern India. I was always fascinated by biological systems and knew I wanted a career in this field. While pursuing my undergraduate degree in Bioengineering near my hometown, my university sponsored an opportunity that allowed me to travel halfway across the globe to conduct my bachelor’s thesis work at Wyss Institute, Harvard University. Post-graduation I stayed in Boston and continued to work at a research lab at Harvard’s renal division. Over time my scientific interests shifted to neuroscience, and I pursued a European research-based master’s program (NEURASMUS) with a full scholarship from the European Commission. I graduated with a joint master of science degree from Vrije University Amsterdam, Charite medical school-Berlin, and the University of Bordeaux-France.In 2015, I moved to California to be with my husband and was fortunate to get a job at the Gladstone Institutes at UCSF. As part of an amazing team of scientists, I led multiple collaborative projects to understand the mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease. This experience and the people I worked with at this lab were really integral to my decision of pursuing a Ph.D.In 2017, I joined the Neuroscience Ph.D. program here at OHSU. It was only after I started my Ph.D., I realized that there was never going to be a “perfect” time to have children. When I joined my thesis lab, I was three months pregnant. With the support of my mentor and help from my family, I passed my qualifying exams 6 months after my son was born. Now he is 2 years old, and it has been an eventful couple of years learning to juggle science and parenting.While you were pursuing your education, did anyone ever talk about raising a family and continuing to build a scientific career?I am the first scientist in my family. Growing up in India, it was common to see and hear about women giving up their careers for a family life – in many cases this was considered the norm and most women I’d met didn’t have a choice. This was largely due to lack of affordable child-care options and the social stigma surrounding the idea of working women. I never had any scientist-parent role models until very recently, and only after I moved to the US.Did you face any obstacles reaching your professional and family goals?This year with the pandemic has been particularly challenging especially when staying far away from family and having to navigate unanticipated circumstances.Considering your current position, are you where you thought you would be when you first started your career in science?Not really - I had a very different vision in mind. Because of what I had seen while growing up, I never really knew it was possible to balance work and family and naively assumed I would have no choice but to give up my career if I wanted to have a family life. Thankfully I have learned that it is possible to pursue both, as long as there is a supportive environment at work and at home. Professionally, I am now very happy at where I am and look forward to pursuing a fulfilling scientific career.Did you ever make a decision that impacted your career specifically because you were a parent?There are several such decisions I make on a daily basis. The first few months of starting daycare can be particularly hard since infants tend to fall sick very often. Since this is very unpredictable, I’ve had to make impromptu decisions depending on the situation. I also knew to some extent, before I became a parent, that I would need to sacrifice certain aspects of my graduate training experience – like after-hours social events which can be good opportunities for networking or having to miss conferences due to lack of childcare, etc. The good thing is, through this process I’ve learned to prioritize and improve my time-management skills, maximize my productivity at work, and make sure I spend quality time with my child.Knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently while pursuing your scientific career?I would have felt less insecure and more confident in my own abilities.I was worried about being perceived as not being serious about my research or science. This was despite getting plenty of support from my thesis mentor and my graduate program. I was also very worried about taking time off and constantly compared my progress with my peers. In hindsight, I can see that this was totally unnecessary and I need not have stressed about taking time off.I would have also participated in social events/groups such as WIS to find out or advocate for more resources instead of trying to figure it all on my own. I was keeping my personal life very discrete and separated from the lab, making it harder to ask for help when needed, for instance, since I work in a wet-lab, I ended up having to figure out my exposure to reproductive toxins all on my own. It was only later I realized I should have reached out to EHS specialists early on for their advice. I also didn’t know I could apply for a badge to use OHSU’s lactation rooms - thankfully my graduate program manager passed on the information on how I could get access before I went on maternity break making it a lot easier when I returned back to lab. After the birth of my son, met another pregnant PhD candidate at a WIS work-life balance panel discussion. Meeting someone going through a similar experience made me realize I should have participated in such events and asked for help/resources.Are there any resources that you would like to see for parents in scientific professions (or those that want to become parents)? Are there any established resources that you found particularly helpful as a scientist and a parent?I would love to see more affordable on-campus childcare options - especially for infants.What do your kids think about your work?My son is too young to understand what I do. Right now he has learned to say I am “in lab” when I’m not around ☺. Looking forward to introducing him to science as he grows!