“ANDro in seventh grade: lesson on the atom. I remember it like it was yesterday, that morning, my science teacher talking, my curiosity and my amazement. I was passionate about it straight away. And from that day to today it is as if my life had simply followed her natural course.” Born in Palermo in 1976, Caterina Alfano is now Group Leader in Structural Biology and Biophysics for the Ri.MED foundation, Italian excellence in the field of biotechnology based in Sicily. Between that chemistry lesson and today, a life of passionate study, twenty years away from his homeland and many even outside Italy. Then, the decision to return to Palermo, to continue working at the highest levels among STEM women in our country. Is the society around you still chauvinist? «Of course, but we can be the change we wish to see in the worldas Gandhi said.”
Stem women (Italian), story of a scientist who found America in Sicily
A degree with honors in Chemistry from the Federico II University of Naples, an international PhD (on the study of protein/nucleic acid interactions using Magnetic Resonance), various assignments abroad, from Bilbao to London, Alfano returns to Italy thanks in Ri.Med. «I had no doubts, contributing to the creation of a center of international importance in my homeland was not only satisfying my professional ambition but also my civic commitment».
Even and especially in the years of distance, the doctor Alfano is committed to Sicily: to break down, on every occasion and in every conversation, the stereotypes about Sicilians: silenced if not mafia-like, inefficient. «I found a notable positive change, and many people eager to get involved. Of course, I still see resignation in some of my countrymen. But this attitude is the only obstacle to true social and economic development. I don’t see any others.”
After the projudices towards Sicily, gender discrimination
After years of fighting against prejudices towards her geographical origin and gender discrimination. Ri.Med is a happy island, with a very high presence of women (63%), which has implemented the Gender Equality Plan since last year (in which Alfano herself participated). “But Many clichés still survive around us regarding the presence of women in the STEM sectors. How to unhinge them? With commitment, without compromise and putting our face to it.”
What is structural biology?
The activities that Alfano puts her face to, still excite her today. «I can’t wait to return to my collaborators. Right now we are dealing with a experiment on a rare neurodegenerative disease, spinocerebellar ataxia type 3″, he says. His research activities in biophysics and structural biology aim to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying serious pathologies, in order to be able to design ad hoc drugs.
But the doctor is also on the front line in initiatives that Ri.Med organizes in schools, thanks to a memorandum of understanding signed with the Regional School Office and the Regional Education Department. «During these activities, the amazement that I see in their eyes in the face of science is identical, in the girls as in the boys».
Advice to girls on becoming Stem women
The obstacles to achieving true equality between men and women in STEM disciplines also persist. «The main concern in girls in secondary schools concerns the conciliation between work in STEM disciplines and private life, and familiar. What do I reply? That we must stop shouldering alone what we can share with our partners: we must believe in it, and believe in it a lot.”
The second tip he always gives girls is to choose STEM subjects to give space to creativity. It seems counterintuitive, but it isn’t. «Science, especially if applied to the biomedical field, is society’s concern, the perfect sector to deploy those sensitivities considered typically feminine».
The third tip? «Let yourself be surprised. And with science it’s easy: I’ve been doing this job for 25 years and I still surprise myself every day. The future of STEM is unimaginable, and that is mind-blowing and incredibly inspiring.”
«To children who ask “why” of everything, always answer»
Then there is one last suggestion, which Alfano addresses to parents. «Science is curiosity and curiosity is a child. So it’s never too early to encourage a child to approach science”: all it takes is a walk in the woods or a careful exploration of the flowerbed in front of the house. All it takes is the right answer to the infinitive whys that children ask adults. «None of them should ever be told they are too small: there is always a tailor-made answer. Let’s help them cultivate their curiosity about the world around them.”
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