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Radboudumc is aiming to increase their percentage of female professors. In 2019, 29.6% of the professors of Radboud University were women. Within the Netherlands, only the Vrije Universiteit and Maastricht University have higher percentages. By 2025, Radboud University aims to further increase this percentage to 36.0%. Within this goal, Radboudumc has appointed thirteen female professors this year, and will make inclusivity and diversity a more explicit part of upcoming recruitments.
Previously, we talked to Baziel van Engelen, rector magnificus Han van Krieken and Ellen van den Bogaard about the new appointments. Today, we are talking to Romana Netea-Maier, one of the newly appointed professors.
Can you tell me about how you got here? What did you study and where did you work before you came to Radboudumc?
‘I'm originally from Romania, where I studied medicine. I always knew that I wanted to do research, and for that reason I came to the Netherlands for the first time, in my 3rd study year.
After graduating, I was able to do my PhD here, so we moved. It was definitely difficult at first, because you're very, very young. You go to another country, you are exposed to a different culture and of course you also have to learn the language. My degree wasn't recognized, so that took work, and of course you want to have everything at once: kids, specializing, and completing a PhD. In the end, I defended my thesis when I had been specializing for a year and a half. That combination of career and family made us pragmatic and good at organizing. You learn to cherish certain things and ensure quality time.
During my specialization I became fascinated with the pathophysiology of endocrine tumors. I interrupted my education to go to the University of Colorado in Denver for a year as a visiting scientist. That's where I came into contact with lab research. It was the first time since my PhD period that I could focus on research alone. I am very lucky to have received that opportunity, but it also brought challenges. You go to another country again, with your whole family, with the children who still have to go to school there. It was very exciting, a special and rich experience for all of us. It feels as if we have really become “citizens of the world”.
When I came back I continued my research work and became an endocrinologist. Later I became the chair of the multidisciplinary endocrine tumors board, and also representative of our center of expertise in various European networks. My research is partly clinical and partly translational. Through my supervision of PhD candidates and postdocs in the lab, I try to combine those two directions.'
What goals did you have for your career? Has the professorship always been a part of that?
'Becoming a professor was never an aim in itself, but I'm convinced it gives me more opportunities to grow to the next level of excellence. This applies to patient care, research, and education and training. I think it's a very important step. It also gives a little bit more visibility - it's almost like a quality mark: I can do it. That's how it feels sometimes. Being a professor strengthens your position and I think that's very valuable when you want to build something relevant for the future.'
What is the focus of your chair? Where does your passion for this subject come from?
'My research focuses on endocrine tumors. I saw patients at my outpatient clinic every day, and their stories inspired me. At the time, there was a strong perception that thyroid cancer was a good cancer, that once you were cured, it was done, and this was not the experience I had in the clinic. The majority of patients were indeed in remission but many still had complaints, sometimes for a very long time after treatment. For other patients with high-risk tumors, there were only limited treatment options. Both groups had many unmet needs. Our research has led to the implementation of the Distress Thermometer, which is used to map the distress of patients as a screening instrument on the outpatient clinic. Patients with additional needs in this area can then be quickly referred. Together with other departments, we are now developing tools that can improve shared decision-making and communication. In addition, we want to look at which physical determinants are related to an impaired quality of live. At the moment we only investigate this in thyroid cancer, but this is also interesting for patients with other types of tumors. In the lab we investigate the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in thyroid cancer development and progression. Hopefully our research can help pave the way towards new therapeutic applications.'
Can you take us through the barriers you may have experienced yourself in your career? How did you deal with that?
‘In hindsight, this was mainly in the beginning: moving to the Netherlands, and ensuring a secure network, both at home and professionally, was very challenging. I also found combining my busy clinical practice with high-quality scientific research and training tasks difficult sometimes. But this was what I have always loved about the academic environment. It helped to set concrete goals for myself, and to make strategic choices both in my personal life and in my career. You have to learn to do that. Looking more closely at the things you want to do, trying to figure out what impassions you, what you like and where you get energy from. Being persistent is also important, you have to realize that building high-quality things requires a lot of time. Be patient and take good care of yourself.'
Do you have tips for (female) researchers who also aspire to a career in the academy?
'Where do I start, lots of things! I believe that these things hold true for both female and male researchers: for me it was important to look for good mentors, who can inspire you and with whom you have a good connection. They can help you in your future career. What I also found useful is following programs focused on career development. At the time I followed a female career development course. The nice thing about such a program is that you meet people from different disciplines, who have gone through completely different trajectories. Just connecting with people from a different environment helps you - you learn a lot from it and it keeps you creative. I think that creativity is very important. Don't get stuck, try to get out of your comfort zone. Don't be chased away by the obstacles you'll encounter. It helped me to stay positive and to remind myself that setbacks are temporary. In hindsight, the obstacle was not so bad.'
Interview by Nina Wubben and Eline van Hugte
