Studying the Mysteries of the Healing Brain with Dr. Erika Calvo Ochoa

Hello All!! I would like to introduce you to Dr. Erika Calvo Ochoa. She studies brains and how they recover after injury. How does she do this? Zebrafish!! Let's learn about her below:

​JACQUE: What is your name?
DR. ERICKA: Dr. Erika Calvo Ochoa
 
JACQUE: What is the official title of what you do?
DR. ERIKA: I am a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology
 
JACQUE: What is the layperson description of what you do?
DR. ERIKA: I am a neuroscientist. This is the type of scientist that studies the brain

​JACQUE: Where are you working now?
DR. ERIKA: At Western Michigan University

JACQUE: Where do you currently live?
DR. ERIKA: I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA but I am originally from Mexico City, Mexico

Zebrafish Image credit: Genome Research Limited

​JACQUE: What are you currently working on?
DR. ERIKA: I study how the brain regenerates after damage. For doing this, I work with zebrafish because, unlike humans, their brains can repair and regenerate really well. They are amazing little creatures!

JACQUE: Can you give us a broad picture of how your time is spent at work?
DR. ERIKA: I spent most of my time planning and doing experiments at the lab as well as analyzing the data I obtain. I also spend a great amount of time reading and writing my results 

JACQUE: Is there a single reason that you are passionate about your job? Or is it several things?
DR. ERIKA: It is several things for me. I love discovering how cells work in the lab and how we can relate these new discoveries to human health and disease. I love teaching and working along my lab mates and students. I get very excited when I read interesting paper with awesome discoveries and when I attend scientific conferences. It is a wonderful job!

JACQUE: Can you give us a basic rundown of how a project is conducted? (From the idea to the end)
DR. ERIKA: You need to have a question first. This question comes from knowledge you have in an area, and a gap that it is not yet known. Then you formulate a hypothesis as to what is happening. Again, this information would come from knowledge you have in the area. Then you set two or three specific aims to test your main hypothesis and design experiments that will help you answer each aim. You need to be flexible and keep an open mind because oftentimes the aims need to be adjusted along the way, or you realize that your hypothesis was not correct

JACQUE: What kind of gear do you use to do your job?
DR. ERIKA: I normally wear a lab coat and gloves

JACQUE: Do you have a favorite tool that works as a lucky charm? (favorite book, shovel, piece of clothing, etc.)
DR. ERIKA: Not really

​JACQUE: What is your favorite part of your job?
DR. ERIKA: Doing research in the lab. I was born to do experiments!

JACQUE: What is your least favorite part of your job?
DR. ERIKA: More often than not, experiments don’t work, and you have to work like a detective to figure out why things are not working right. I don’t necessary dislike this part of the job, but sometimes you can get stuck with no answers at all and that is the part that I don’t like much

JACQUE: What is your motivation?
DR. ERIKA: I have many. I always ser up short-, medium-, and long-term goals to keep me motivated. In the long term, I would like to build a successful career as a scientist and make important contributions to human health. A medium-term goal could be to obtain good data for writing a paper and a short-term goal could mean finishing a single experiment. Having these different goals helps me to move forward in small steps at a time while looking at the big picture. 

​JACQUE: Tell us about your educational path so far.
DR. ERIKA: I attended Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in my hometown for both my BSc and my PhD. My BSc is in Biomedical Research and my PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience. I chose these programs because I knew I wanted to be a scientist since I was young. It was incredibly challenging at times, but it was absolutely worth it! I love being a scientist

JACQUE: Are communications a big part of your job?
DR. ERIKA: Yes, it is. Writing scientific reports and papers is a fundamental part of the job, since you want to share your results with the scientific community. I also like to share scientific knowledge via traditional teaching, social media, and outreach events and talks with young students

JACQUE: A question from 11-year-old Sarah- Do you get paid for being a scientist? In other words, how do you get paid for what you do? (If you are a student and working, tell us about that)
DR. ERIKA: I do get paid to be a scientist! When I was a student, I got a little stipend from my mentor research money; as a grad student and now as a postdoctoral researcher I have a fellowship from research agencies

JACQUE: How important is getting grant money?
DR. ERIKA: It is very important, since you need the money for buying equipment, reagents and sometimes for paying students a salary

​JACQUE: What was the most unusual location you have found yourself in?
DR. ERIKA: Japan feels from another world entirely. I loved it and I want to go back again

​JACQUE: Where did you grow up?
DR. ERIKA: In Guadalajara, Mexico

JACQUE: Who were your biggest supporters?
DR. ERIKA: My parents, my husband and now my kids. I wouldn’t have done all the things that I have without their unconditional love and support. Family is everything!

JACQUE: What is your cultural background?
DR. ERIKA: I am a proud Latina from Mexico

JACQUE: Which socioeconomic group did you grow up in? 
DR. ERIKA: I grew up middle class in a family that valued hard work and education above everything. Having this background was very important for me to be able to go to college and grad school 

 JACQUE: Are you the first in your family to become a scientist?
DR. ERIKA: Yes, I am the first one. My parents were a little confused about my job at first but always supported me and encouraged me to follow my dreams. They are very proud of me. On another note, my husband is also a scientist

JACQUE: Did you see real life scientists when you were a kid?
DR. ERIKA: No, I never met one. I would have loved to, though

JACQUE: Were many people in your family educated with college degrees?
DR. ERIKA: Both my parents, my sister, my uncles and aunts and two of my grandparents went to college. I was very fortunate to grow up in a family that valued education and in a country where public universities are free. 

JACQUE: Did you have other friends or peers to talk to about science?
DR. ERIKA: I had a couple of friends at middle school. They are great medical doctors working on their residency. When I entered college, suddenly all my friends were scientists. 

JACQUE: Did you have a teacher in middle or high school that saw something extra in you?
DR. ERIKA: I was a very good student growing up, so I was often recognized by my teachers. Some of them encouraged me to keep on the scientific track that I was dreaming to follow

JACQUE: Who were the least supportive people in your life? How did they act?
DR. ERIKA: There were some members of my extended family that were not happy with my college and career choice. They even tried to convince my parents that this was a bad idea. Fortunately, my parents always supported me and didn’t listened to naysayers

JACQUE: How did you handle situations when people underestimated you?
DR. ERIKA: If you work hard and dedicate yourself, it shows. If someone hasn’t believed in me initially, I just kept going and let my good work speak for me

​JACQUE: What are the parts about being a scientist that you didn’t expect?
DR. ERIKA: At first it is was very challenging and hard. I had to learn an incredible amount of information, learn how to work in a lab, how to write scientific reports, read scientific papers etc. it took me years to become good at it 

JACQUE: What do you find MOST frustrating about your work?
DR. ERIKA: Sometimes experiments or reagents don’t work and you don’t know why. Working with living beings is very complex and there are a lot of variables that we don’t know

JACQUE: Can you give advice on what NOT to do when handling the stress of college and the job?
DR. ERIKA: Never give up. Never think you are not good/intelligent/talented enough. Do not think that college is supposed to be easy; it’s not 

JACQUE: What is your highest point so far?
DR. ERIKA: Professionally, being awarded an NSF postdoctoral fellowship; it is a dream come true. Personally, being a mom of my two children

JACQUE: Can you tell us about a situation, whether in school or at work, that you could have handled better after thinking about it? What would you have done differently?
DR. ERIKA: I can think of several. When I was working in one of my labs at college, I felt aggravated by one of my lab mates and I was very vocal about it. At the end it didn’t end well for me because she was my senior. I should’ve thought more about how to stand for myself in a better way

JACQUE: Please tell us about the thing you are most proud of accomplishing so far.
DR. ERIKA: Obtaining a postdoctoral fellowship

JACQUE: Were there times you wanted to give up? How did you push through?
DR. ERIKA: Several. Particularly during my first years at college, everything was very hard and challenging but I kept pushing myself. My boyfriend, now husband, was my biggest support during these times. 

JACQUE: What coping mechanisms do you have that help you handle the stress of your job?
DR. ERIKA: Having a happy place to disconnect is very important. I am very lucky to have a wonderful family 

JACQUE: Can you give us an example of handling a bad situation well?
DR. ERIKA: I had a very bad boss once, but I was patient and understanding. Things went down pretty bad for this person and I was not affected at all because of my previous behavior

JACQUE: What was your lowest point?
DR. ERIKA: After finishing my PhD, my family and I moved from Mexico to Michigan because my husband got a job there. Because of my type of visa I could not work for over two years and when I was able to work I couldn’t find a job for several months. I tried to go back to school, to teach, to work in the pharmaceutical industry and other things and nothing seemed to work. I was very sad and disappointed. I kept trying different things and I applied for a research fellowship at various agencies. After many many months of searching, I got a couple of job offers and a research fellowship (the job that I currently do). Not having given up really paid off in the end!

​JACQUE: What is your social life like?
DR. ERIKA: I have some good friends and neighbors that I see regularly; I spent most of my free time with my family and during work hours I get to spend time with friends from my lab and the other labs of my department

JACQUE: What is your home life like?
DR. ERIKA: It is great. I am married and have two kids, aged 6 and 1.5

JACQUE: Do you have any pets?
DR. ERIKA: Yes. We have a 3-year old beagle

JACQUE: What kind of hobbies do you have?
DR. ERIKA: I like to spend time with my family. We like to hike, to grill, to play board games and to go to Lake Michigan in the summer

​JACQUE: Can you give us an example of a time that you were treated in a sexist way in your job?
DR. ERIKA: I have been explained things in a patronizing way but men who know less than me in a certain topic

JACQUE: Can you give us an example of a time that you were pleasantly surprised that sexism did not come into play?
DR. ERIKA: In my opinion I have experienced fairness in my job for the most of my career

JACQUE: Were you influenced by the character Dana Scully from X-Files or another woman scientist character? If so, can you tell us how important that representation was to you?
DR. ERIKA: I wasn’t. I loved watching “Beakman’s world” while growing up, he always had a female sidekick who was very smart although not a scientist. Having a scientist role model growing up would have been really awesome 

JACQUE: Is there a part of your identity, whether LGBT, a person of color, a religious or cultural minority, or differently-abled, that influenced a facet of your experience as you became a scientist?
DR. ERIKA: I am a Latina, but I grew up in Mexico, so I was not a minority there. Now that I live in the States, I have found the great disparities that exists for Latinos in science, and this has motivated me to do something about it. Thanks to this, science has a greater scope and meaning now for me

​JACQUE: Do you have a large, overall goal for your lifetime of work?
DR. ERIKA: I would like to make an impact to human health and also to mentor students from diverse backgrounds and show them they can be scientists, too.

JACQUE: If money were no issue, what project would u do?
DR. ERIKA: I would study the same things I do now but with fancier equipment and reagents

JACQUE: What worries you? Keeps you up at night?
DR. ERIKA: I would like to find a research job in the future. Academic jobs are very competitive and scarce, so I always think of that

JACQUE: What advice would you give to a girl coming into a STEM field?
DR. ERIKA: That is a great career and although it cous be hard, it is incredibly rewarding. To not let anyone tell her that she is not smart or good enough and that she can do anything she sets her mind to

JACQUE: What advice would you give to parents like me to help prepare their child to go into the STEM field?
DR. ERIKA: That STEM careers can be challenging as any other, but very rewarding. I believe also that having a STEM degree gives you multiple and well-paid career choices

JACQUE: Is there anything you would like to add? Are there questions that would be good to add to the questionnaire?
DR. ERIKA: Just that don’t think that scientists are geniuses and you can’t become one if you are not ultra-smart. Reality is, that in science there are many other traits and skills that will take you farther than intelligence. Discipline, curiosity, resilience and hard work are some of the most important to me

JACQUE: Do you have a website we can check out?
DR. ERIKA: I’m working on it, but you can find me on twitter @erikacalvophd

JACQUE: If a future scientist wanted to contact you, how could they do that? 
DR. ERIKA: They can reach me at erikacalvo@gmail.com or by twitter @erikacalvophd

I would love to thank Dr. Erika for being interviewed on FANTASTIC WOMEN IN SCIENCE!! She is an excellent example of #LatinasInScience