Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors?: A Message to Young Scientists and Other Humans

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Mother, Scientist, Immigrant, Scholar, Wife, Trailblazer, Mentor.

 

Acclaimed biochemist Dr. Marlene Belfort has something to say to the next generation.

 

The child of immigrant parents who escaped Hitler's regime, she recounts growing up in South Africa during apartheid, losing her father to suicide, and trying to make sense of an insensible world.

 

To young scientists, Dr. Belfort concedes to "muddling through" during her career, learning to be at ease with uncertainty and embracing ambiguity.

 

To parents, she cites her own experience as a working mother as evidence that the very activities that we fear will damage children often do the opposite, building their resilience and lifelong connections.

 

To those suffering from depression, she poignantly describes her own illness and recovery, offering hope and inspiration.

 

Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors? explores walking the tightrope of balancing the personal and professional. It frankly discusses the human struggle to deal with discrimination, depression, and loss. And it celebrates the joy of living a rich, fulfilling life. Letting go is liberating!

Dr. Marlene Belfort was born in South Africa to German-Jewish refugees escaping Hitler's regime. One of the first women to study graduate biochemistry and microbiology at the University of Cape Town, she earned her PhD from the University of California, Irvine, and conducted postdoctoral research at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and Northwestern University. A member of the US National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she holds the International RNA Society's Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Belfort is a Distinguished Professor at University at Albany, SUNY. She and her husband, Georges, live in Massachusetts.