Gabriela Cruz 

I am currently studying the influence of the expression of LINC 00152 in the very early relapse event in Mexican patients with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL).

What excites me the most about doing science are the answers. Since I was very young I have loved riddles, leading questions, the search for truth, the feeling you have when you are about to have a logical thought, to make the stories between theory and practice fit perfectly.

I’m sure any scientist has faced the uncertainty and frustration when experiments don't work, when they go bad for whatever reason. I have experienced it and it is the worst. Fortunately, so far I have not had to face problems of being a woman in science, however I have been able to witness the problems that some colleagues face when trying to continue with their careers and at the same time start a family. I know women who have significantly lowered their performance when having children, or I have heard comments that carry very subtle gender violence about obsolete prejudices such as that a woman can only marry a man or her career, she must choose between giving up her goals to professionals or divorce or never marry because the job is demanding. Sadly, these comments or assumptions are normal in Mexican culture, where ""machismo"" continues to be deeply rooted in both men and women, because many times these comments come from another woman.

It is also notable that in the biology career we have more female students than men, something similar happens in the postgraduate degrees, both in master's and doctorates, and in classrooms or laboratories. However, when looking at the research vacancies there are always more men than women, such as laboratory heads, deputy directors, research directors, institution directors, there are always more men than women and in an overwhelming ratio of 10: 1. I do not know how difficult the job market is for women, I suppose I will find out soon, but it is something that I notice from where I am today and that without a doubt I would like to change tomorrow for myself, and for all the female researchers that come after me.

Every step of the way I have been fortunate to meet scientific women who are extremely intelligent and very inspiring for me. From companions, such as Dr. Valerie de Anda Torres, who in addition to being extremely intelligent, is very creative, compassionate, funny and someone I deeply admire both for her professional career and her family environment. In my social service, I had the fortune to meet Dr. Gabriela Sánchez Lozada, a passionate, super intelligent woman, who attends several conferences every year, produces several articles and never stops being in contact with her line of research. She also enjoys photography very much and scrolling through her IG is a real delight. While doing my master's degree, I ran into Dr. Bernardette Estandía Ortega as a classmate, who is an excellent and very talented geneticist, master of science, doctoral candidate, and member of the SNI. She is the mother of two beautiful children and living with her made it very clear to me the passion she feels both for her family and for her career. Currently, I feel a lot of affection and admiration for my tutor, Dr. Silvia Jiménez Morales, who leads our laboratory team in an exceptional way. She knows perfectly our strengths and weaknesses and knows how to exploit them to the maximum.

In summary: All these women and many more are my role models and inspire me with their passion towards their work, their intelligence, and their desire to share their knowledge. They have all helped me in one way or another throughout my training and they are all excellent role models.

A super cool part of several of my hobbies is having the possibility of living with people of different ages. I have friends who are just about to enter university, or who have been inside for a very short time. I am happy to say that I see more interest in girls for science careers, and I love inspiring them. I also know women up to 20 years older than me who chose a scientific career and have told me about everything they faced. 

I think that in my country there is a lot of interest and we have really brilliant girls and women, however there is something does not allow us to reach higher positions, which I hope will change soon