Soapbox Science 2021 Online

Soapbox: Did you choose a scientific career or did the scientific career choose you?

Lisa Hug: Mathematics and natural sciences always fascinated me. I thought it would be a waste of talent not to study something in this field – particularly as a woman – and in the end, I just followed this path until today.

SB: What is the most exciting aspect of your research?

LH: Computer simulations in the field of biomedicine have a huge potential to improve the lives of many people. Although it is still a long way to clinical application, I find it a great motivation every day to imagine my research one day helps people.

SB: If you were stranded on a desert island, what scientific equipment would you bring with you?

LH: Nothing. There’s no power supply.

SB: What challenges do you encounter in science?

LH: There are times where you don’t know what you are doing and if it ever works out. I think the most challenging part is to believe in yourself and push through. Once you find the solution it is the best feeling! My impression talking to both young and senior scientists is that women tend to doubt themselves to a higher degree than men. We need to support each other – men included – to work against this tendency.

SB: What motivates you to give a talk in Soapbox Science?

LH: It is fundamental that we as researchers share our knowledge and learn to communicate in a way that people outside our field can understand and relate. Looking at the big crises we are facing as a society – now the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change – we can see how essential science, but in particular science communication is. Done wrongly, it can plant seeds of mistrust in people and thus prevent technical progress and efficient tackling of crises. At the interface of biomedicine and computer science where my research is centred, we face huge scepticism in people when it comes to bringing our software into clinical application. To reach this goal science communication is vital, and I consider Soapbox Science a great chance to gain further experience in this field.

SB: Do you have a few words to inspire other women or young scientists?

LH: It’s tough and you will struggle, but there is more to win than to lose. Just do it. Let’s support each other and strive for a world where there is no need to talk about the underrepresentation of women in science!