Celebrating Women in science day
February 10, 2023
The global average percentage of women researchers is only 33,3% and only 35% of STEM students are women. Less than one in four researchers in the business world is a woman and, when women start up their own business, they struggle to access finance. In 2019, just 2% of venture capital was directed towards start-ups founded by women[1].
At Sunstar, research and innovation are at the core of our business, as we have been a manufacturing company since our very beginnings. It has been constant evolution and entrepreneurship that led us to become the company we are today. Our products in both healthcare and industrial fields are the result of years of in-house investigation and research, as well as fruitful collaborations with key universities, research centers and hospitals worldwide.
As the data above shows, we still have a long way to go to improve globally in terms of increasing the number of women in science and engineering-related positions. Hence, today we celebrate Women in Science day with some of our women researchers at Sunstar: Lisa Pasterk, a Lisa Pasterk, molecular microbiologist with a PhD in the field of cardiovascular disease and inflammation, she is Clinical Affairs Manager in the Global R&D department and takes care of clinical studies with the aim to provide scientific evidence for Sunstar products; Miki Ishikawa, researcher in the Sunstar Japan Research Strategy Department with a strong background in product development; and, Akimi Ebata, researcher in the Sunstar Engineering Japan R&D.
Why did you get into science?
Despite boys and girls performing closely in mathematics and science at school according to statistics, girls are less encouraged to pursue careers in STEM fields[2]. This is sometimes blamed on existing gender roles and prejudices. Therefore, we asked Lisa Pasterk, Miki Ishikawa, and Akimi Ebata why they were interested in science in the first place, and it seems their childhood played a big role in them becoming scientists.
Miki Ishikawa says, “Since childhood, I have always enjoyed investigating and analyzing things I did not understand, and I had a vague yearning to experiment and become a scientist. With this background, I went on to study sciences at university. Working in the laboratory during my graduate school years, I realized that some of my discoveries were then used in society, and I could feel the joy of my research being useful to others. I think this was a major deciding factor in my decision to pursue science as a career.”
Likewise, it seems curiosity as a child was also a major factor in Dr Pasterk’s case, as she explains, “As a kid, one of my favorite TV series was “once upon a time… life”, which tells the story of the human body in an easy, but educational way. The “main characters” like the blood cells were nicely animated and it was fascinating to see how the whole body works together when fighting against the “bad guys” represented by viruses or bacteria. Only now do I understand that it was scientific communication at its best, and it really worked on me, as I was immediately interested in life sciences. I have been a curious kid in general and it was always fun for me to gain new knowledge and question things. I think I just wanted to continue to live this way as an adult.”
Miki Ishikawa says, “Since childhood, I have always enjoyed investigating and analyzing things I did not understand, and I had a vague yearning to experiment and become a scientist. With this background, I went on to study sciences at university. Working in the laboratory during my graduate school years, I realized that some of my discoveries were then used in society, and I could feel the joy of my research being useful to others. I think this was a major deciding factor in my decision to pursue science as a career.”
Likewise, it seems curiosity as a child was also a major factor in Dr Pasterk’s case, as she explains, “As a kid, one of my favorite TV series was “once upon a time… life”, which tells the story of the human body in an easy, but educational way. The “main characters” like the blood cells were nicely animated and it was fascinating to see how the whole body works together when fighting against the “bad guys” represented by viruses or bacteria. Only now do I understand that it was scientific communication at its best, and it really worked on me, as I was immediately interested in life sciences. I have been a curious kid in general and it was always fun for me to gain new knowledge and question things. I think I just wanted to continue to live this way as an adult.”
For Akimi Ebata, her interests as a child also left a mark and guided her future as an adult; “I have been interested and studied multiple fields such as chemistry, physics, biology, and geology, and, although I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to become, I always knew it had to be related to science”
How has Sunstar supported your career?
As we strive to be recognized as one of the companies with the highest employee happiness index in the world by encouraging learning from others, respecting and promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, achieving gender parity is key to our long-term vision. According to Unesco, even those countries with gender parity in STEM fields face challenges in achieving full equality, since women still encounter vertical and horizontal segregation[3]. Therefore, supporting women’s careers is equally important to providing job opportunities for us.
“As I worked mainly in academia before, it was extremely interesting to see the role of science and research from the industry perspective. Within a short time I could learn a lot about how to handle and align the different interests coming from academia and industry. It was like getting the full picture for the first time.” – Dr Pasterk says.
“In the Sunstar Japan research department, there is a culture of freedom and challenge and every researcher is given the opportunity to suggest research topics. From a young age, it was an environment where I could hone my skills while being conscious of my area of expertise. Life events such as marriage and childbirth sometimes made it difficult for me to balance work and family, but thanks to the flexible work environment, I was able to steadily build up my career, albeit slowly. In addition, there are many active women in the company, and I was able to draw a concrete image of my goals, maintain my motivation for work, and challenge myself to advance my career”, explains Miki Ishikawa
Offering training and educational opportunities to our employees is vital to support their careers and honing their skills. In this line, Akimi Ebata acknowledges how important formation has been for her trajectory at Sunstar, “Correspondence education and seminars were very useful for learning and improving my work style, self-development and expanding my knowledge in a field different from my own area of expertise. Thanks to that, I could validate my courses and acquire multiple qualifications.”
Dr Pasterk also builds on the support received in her career at Sunstar: “As I was supported and trusted by my direct supervisors, I could soon take over and start new projects with external researchers. These collaborations – including the constant exchange with top experts in the field – allowed me to deepen my knowledge in clinical research as well as in the dental field”.
What are you working on at the moment?
Our current research scope focuses on three main pillars: mouth & body, health & beauty, and safety & environment. Dr Pasterk, Miki Ishikawa, and Akimi Ebata are working on very different topics at the moment.
Miki Ishikawa from Japan Consumer Research Department is currently focusing on building evidence that shows the importance of the mouth and body connection. One of the most recent research she participated in dives into the relationship between the number of teeth and the medical costs, where she claims, “I try to conduct research from a perspective that is easily understandable for non-dental specialists”.
Dr Pasterk in Switzerland is currently working on probiotics, as she says “Currently, there are several clinical studies ongoing in the field of probiotics, with the aim to strengthen the evidence of probiotics in the dental field. I really enjoy being part of this evidence-based scientific approach, since I am convinced that probiotics have a huge potential to improve oral health.”
While Ishikawa and Pasterk’s scope of work is mainly related to healthcare, Akimi Ebata belongs to the industrial field and is currently involved in developing sealings for the automotive business. As she says, “Sunstar developed “Penguin Foam System” which is a mechanical foaming system for producing elastic foam gaskets that are placed within car bodies. Conventionally, this material is cured by heat, but we are developing a new type of material that is cured by ultraviolet rays (LED lamp). By changing the curing method, our customers no longer need to install heated ovens, contributing to carbon neutrality. In addition, since the time required for curing is greatly shortened, helping to reduce costs.”
Join us in celebrating Women in Science day and learn more about our research, grants and awards opportunities here.
[1] https://www.unesco.org/reports/science/2021/en/women-digital-revolution