We are pleased to feature an interview with Dr. Elizabeth Bromfield, another speaker at the 17th NYRA Meeting. Dr. Bromfield is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the Priority Research Centre for Reproductive Science, where her work focuses on how human sperm cells recognize and interact with the egg to improve in vitro fertilization outcomes. Her research has provided key insights into sperm-egg recognition and the factors that contribute to male infertility. Additionally, she has identified molecules that could aid in developing diagnostic assays to predict IVF success.
1. When and why did you decide to work in the field of reproductive biology?
My interest in science was sparked by the thrill and mystery of conducting home science experiments with my older brother, Sean, who is also a scientist and teacher, I was fascinated. My niece is also an ICSI baby and this spurred my interest in reproductive biology and infertility and I have always been very passionate about reproductive rights. I would also credit the influence of Prof. Brett Nixon, Dr. Shaun Roman and Prof. Eileen McLaughlin. I was lucky to have such exceptional reproductive biologists as lecturers and I was drawn to field because of their research.
- Could you share a moment of challenge in your career, and the lessons you learned from it?
Every ‘crossroads’ for me have been a challenge. The most notable ones probably being the PhD to Postdoc transition and job search (2015), deciding between staying in The Netherlands long term or returning to Australia (2021), and then deciding whether to move to Melbourne to start my own lab in 2023. Big decisions are always hard, but I’ve been lucky to have so many confidantes and amazing colleagues who have patiently listened to me agonise over what to do and given me their honest thoughts. I’ve also had the great privilege of having others advocate for me and give me a push when needed to make bold career decisions that are a little against my nature. What I have learnt from these uncertain periods is that the easy choices are not necessarily the best choices for me and that this is a long game. There is a lot of time to do all the things I want to do with my career, I don’t have to try to do them all at once.
- What has been the greatest success in your career so far?
Although I am of course very proud of the work that we do and our scientific discoveries so far, I am most proud of my team and how we are growing together. My students are exceptional scientists as well as the most caring, inclusive, and thoughtful people. We work hard but still prioritise our wellbeing and have a lot of fun in the lab. They provide me with a lot of purpose and motivation and their successes always bring the most joy.
- What advice would you give to young researchers?
#1 Support those at the same career stage as you
I have received such amazing peer-mentorship from my colleagues over the years. We work extremely hard to support each other’s careers, put each other’s names forward for opportunities, collaborate together, coach each other, celebrate wins and losses and most importantly, laugh about how trying this career can be at times. I can’t stress enough how important it is to support those around you, even the people you’re directly competing with for opportunities. The more support you give, the more time you will spend celebrating.
#2 Learn to be comfortable with being bad at things
I think getting comfortable with owning your own mistakes and shortcomings is one of the most confronting and difficult things we have to learn as scientists, but also the most beneficial. By its very nature (the fact that research is delving into the new and unknown), science must be about getting things wrong and improving on that. Often that exposes our insecurities but getting comfortable being bad at things has helped me to take more risks, learn new skills out of my comfort zone and I am a better teacher/supervisor for it too. My group now has a regular ‘Fail Friday’ meeting where we share, and try to celebrate, our lab and life fails with each other. We don’t talk about the mistakes we make often enough in academia.