Women scientists find formula of success

Talk With Lu Jian, a Chinese TV show, has launched a series of programs under the title of She Power in Tech, dedicated to highlighting the voices and work of women scientists.

Premiered on Dec 3, the series opened with an interview with Chinese geneticist Fu Qiaomei, the professor and group leader of the Molecular Paleontology Laboratory at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"From across the fields of science, these women in science have a lot to say," says Lu Jian, the TV show's host, who visited Fu and talked with her at her laboratory. "It's important for women scientists to be seen because there are still so few of them in this field, compared to other fields like arts and education. These women scientists came with their own stories of why they fell in love with science, which are very inspiring," Lu says.

Fu shared her findings in the first episode of She Power in Tech series.

"A man who lived 40,000 years ago and whose remains were found in Tianyuan Cave in Beijing reveals the closest genetic relationship with people living today in East Asia, but has no immediate descendants among them. He also shares ancestry with an ancient West Eurasian that is not shared with all ancient West Eurasians," Fu says.

Her findings help people better understand the structure of ancient populations.

"When she talks about her research, she is very concentrated and proud. She told me that no matter how hard it may seem, it's absolutely worth it," says Lu. "Actually, that's something shared by these women scientists."

In the show, Fu, 38, also told her story of how she became a scientist. She grew up with a keen interest in biology. After studying at Northwest University in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi province, and then at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, Fu completed her PhD in the Department of Evolutionary Genetics at the Max Planck Institute.

She says her interdisciplinary work as an undergraduate, studying both chemistry and cultural relics, prepared her for her current work. Upon completing her master's degree in 2009, she headed to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany to study for a PhD in ancient human genomics.