Ahana Maitra
BIO
Postdoc in evolutionary genetics (formerly a veterinarian), science writer and editor, and a mother of one.
Instagram: @ahanamaitra
Ahana Maitra
“I didn’t have a very flexible supervisor, but I had a super strong team of coworkers who always had my back.”
I started my career as a veterinarian, and did my Master’s in Animal Parasitology. I was working a government job in India when my daughter was born. Life was “settled”, but I wanted more. So, when my daughter was two years old, I decided to pursue a PhD in Genetics and Evolutionary Biology in Amazon, Brazil. I left my job, flew to a different continent, learnt a new language and of course, committed myself to a PhD program with a toddler.
I worked with the population genetics of mosquito vectors and had to spend a lot of time in the lab, even in evenings or during weekends. Even though my husband wanted to look after our daughter, she would insist on accompanying me and interestingly, she mostly didn’t make a fuss or disturb me while I kept on and on with my lab procedures. She used to sit beside me during my long sessions of genotyping, sequencing and data analysis. By the age of 5, she was already speaking DNA, RNA, Nanodrop, genotyping and microsatellites.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a very flexible supervisor, but I had a super strong team of coworkers who always had my back. They even volunteered to pick up and drop off my daughter whenever I got stuck.
Another unfortunate challenge which I have faced very often is a prejudiced opinion against women researchers who are mothers. I have been made to feel inferior, and not up-to-the-mark in comparison to my peers (who didn’t have children or were single) on various occasions.
I was also not considered for opportunities like conferences, field trips, and outstation training, just because I was a mother, which was detrimental to my self-esteem and career growth as a scientist.
Being a mother, I had some limitations, but I also learned to excel in planning, organisation and time management. I used to plan everything, every PCR, to its every minute detail, so that I could be with my daughter at night or on Sundays.
Currently, I am a post-doctoral fellow and my 9-year-old girl couldn’t be more proud, sometimes it’s even embarrassing for me. But I think as a mother it is my duty to show her that being a mother is never a setback; rather, it’s the ultimate crash course in management and multitasking. And, it's okay to keep on learning and trying different things in your life.