I found my first and deepest inspiration to work in biomedical sciences and engineering in my family. I was having pure fun while watching nature documentaries with my mother, solving puzzles with my father, paging through volumes of encyclopedias with my older sister, and performing daring explorations with my younger brother.

I am the principal investigator of the Biomedical Optics and Neurovascular Imaging Laboratory at Washington University in St Louis. Our team is working on elucidating the complex interplay between oxygenation, blood flow, microvascular structure, and metabolism in health and disease. We develop and advance in vivo optical microscopy methods, integrating them with state-of-the-art molecular probes, and pursue new experimental approaches for preclinical animal studies in the brain and beyond. My core responsibilities are conducting this exciting research, training the next generation of researchers in my network, and contributing to the academic infrastructure with service and funding efforts that sustain our work.

I consider my greatest accomplishment in my career to be that I persisted. I had to endure various versions of explicit or implicit biases throughout my academic journey because of my gender, values, economic status, background, and appearance. Next steps were always challenging, and role models were scarce.

I am still going through the biggest challenge that I faced, which is to maintain the delicate balance between family, health, and work. Some days can get tough when these important aspects of life happen to be demanding all at the same. I try to keep a stoic perspective, and focus my mental and physical energy only on things that I can change. I strive to be the best version of myself and to not shy away from asking for help. I remind myself to not let my anxiety about obstacles overshadow the joy that comes from walking the path I chose.

You can use the Pareto Principle (80 percent of outcomes result from 20 percent of all inputs) to triage your daily and long-term tasks in your life, while staying true to your principle of doing everything with care.

Ikbal Şencan-Eğilmez
Assistant Professor of Radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR), Biophotonics Research Center (BRC), Washington University in St. Louis
Born in Türkiye / Resides in United States
Educational Background: MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles; Postdoctoral Training in Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, Postdoctoral Training in Radiology, A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, United States