Soapbox Science 2022

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

Lara Marten: I chose to study medicine with the aim to do pursue a scientific career. During the years of studying the priorities became more fluid and I was not always sure in what kind of position I would want to end up. But I always knew that I wanted science to be an important part of my work life. And now I found a position where I can combine scientific with clinical work and feel very lucky about that.

Soapbox: What was the key moment that brought you to the place where you are today?

LM: It is impossible to boil it down to one key moment. One key observation I made during the work in a lab for my medical thesis in the first years of my studies was how my
supervisor divided his work between the hospital and the lab, and I got the idea that I want to be able to do that at some point. Throughout my studies and residency, I was lucky to have inspiring people around me who would encourage and support my goals, which was important for me to get to where I am now.

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

LM: As a clinician scientist in the field of neuropediatrics I love the direct connection between the experimental work in the lab and the actual individual patients. There are countless things that we don’t know about how clinical presentation, genetics, and interactions on the molecular level play together. We learn about new details and aspects all the time, and everything could possibly change the way we understand and are able to treat certain conditions. Ideally, we will be able to translate our findings back to our patients to improve their treatment.

Soapbox: What is your scientific superhero power? Or what superhero would you be?

LM: This is a difficult question for me to answer… I wish I had the superpower to teleport or to add more hours to one day – but I’m not there yet.

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

LM: A powerful magnifying glass. And lots of pens and paper. 

Soapbox: What challenges do you encounter in science?

LM: A big challenge for me is to balance out the time between diverse projects and parts of my work life, which can be very different from each other. There are so many exciting questions and possibilities, and it can be hard to stay focused or even decide on what is really important. Also, I find it challenging to be patient sometimes, as many things will need some time to work out, and to not be discouraged if experiments or collaborations don’t give you the desired outcome.

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

LM: I am very passionate about my work and want to share that with everyone who is interested. When I learned about the concept of Soapbox Science, I was immediately excited and wanted to contribute something. Also, I want to raise awareness for rare diseases and the fact, that if you count everyone affected together, it is quite a big group that is in need for care and therapeutic options.

Soapbox: Do you have a few words to inspire other female or young scientists?

LM: Never get discouraged to follow your goals or think your ideas are too crazy or undoable. Try to find a network of people that are kind, believe in you and support you, and don’t give too much thought about people who don’t. Never lose your excitement and passion about what you do and give support back to others wherever you can.

Soapbox: In these pandemic days, what funny/interesting experiments, books, talks or podcasts can you recommend to our audience?

LM: The recent documentary “Picture A Scientist” really moved me, everyone should watch it. Also, I enjoy listening to the endless podcast hours from the Zeit podcast “Alles gesagt”, there are some inspiring interviews (for example talks with Jutta Allmendinger, Maja Göpel, Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim and others).