Meet the WISE 鈥� Terese Thornblad
Doctoral Candidate at Electrical Engineering
We want to put our members in the spotlight! For the Meet the WISE series, we interview WISE members in different stages of their careers across the university. We hope that their stories, experiences and career paths can be an inspiration to other women at 果冻传媒.
Hello! Could you please introduce yourself and the research that you're doing?
My name is Terese Thornblad, and I do research in AI for healthcare. I am working with CT images to both detect and diagnose tumors, but I also work with general AI for medicine, looking at how to improve its use. But I am almost finished now.
And why did you decide to do a PhD on this topic?
I studied medical physics in Stockholm, where I'm from, and then I heard from my teachers there about AI being a new topic in healthcare. Previously, I had not worked at all with that in my studies, but I thought that I wanted to go into it. Both because I really enjoyed programming, and there wasn't a lot of that in physics, and because it seemed like the next big thing in medicine, and I wanted to get ahead of it in a way. And then I thought, what better way to learn about it than to do a PhD in it?
Before, I already did a master's project using AI at the Maastro clinic in Maastricht. And then I started applying for jobs in AI for medicine, which is how I found an interesting project in my group - and so that's how I got here! I also really liked the supervisor, because I have had previous supervisors who downplayed my abilities a bit. Because, speaking of being a woman in science, I do feel like male supervisors sometimes tend to question my knowledge and abilities. But with my supervisor now, he really did advocate for me. So, I think the supervisor is truly what sold it for me in the end.
You also have collaborations with different project partners for your PhD. How have you managed all the different expectations?
Oh yeah, we did have an industry partner with Phillips before, but then they had to quit our project due to the reorganization. But I do work with Catherina Hospital. I also work with the industrial design department here, because that was part of the collaboration from the start. So, it is very multidisciplinary.
I think it's often in a way difficult to define what my project is, because everyone pulls you in different ways and wants you to do different things. Like from the hospital, they want us to make a product. They want us to just make an AI, and then make it a little bit better and a little bit better. But you can't publish that "my work is a tiny bit better than it was yesterday", it doesn't say anything. It is hard to say: I know I was supposed to develop this AI, but I can't do that any further and also graduate. So, it's been tough to manage expectations, I guess, but it's also nice to hear insights from different perspectives.
As you said, you have nearly finished your PhD. Would you like to continue to be in academia, or are you planning to explore the industry?
From the start, I was always planning to go into the hospital, and that is still my plan now. I did have moments when I was like, oh, maybe academia would be nice. I think the main thing was that I was thinking that I would want to be a role model: I would want to be the one postdoc, the one professor in my group who is a woman. But my previous bad experiences and also talking to other professors about the intense workload in academia, for example, had me thinking: I don't know if I want to keep doing that. I definitely, even in my PhD, tried to stick to the nine-to-five. So, since an academic career wasn't my idea from the start, my idea about my career path hasn't really changed.
Speaking of being a woman in science, how do you think the WISE network is able to offer support?
It's been very nice just hearing from people going to the writing groups where there are both professors and PhDs and people of all levels talking about their experiences. You really feel like you're part of a group; even if their field is completely different from mine, they still kind of understand, which is nice. And I feel like it's very open and welcoming. I got to know more people and network.
At this point in my PhD, I really like the writing retreat. I went last year and also this year, because it is just nice to see other people who are in research, like full professors who are women, because I don't get to see that otherwise. I am one of the few women in my group, and it has been tough not to see representation above the PhD level, so there are no female role models.
Do you have some words of advice for women who find themselves in a similar position?
I think one important thing is finding someone who is truly supportive. And for me, my supervisor was really good at that. I was happy that I had someone who was an anchor. Otherwise, I think I would have quit if I didn't have anyone who felt like they were on my side. So that's one thing, but also finding a network, possibly among people in your group you feel comfortable with, or else finding it elsewhere, either among friends or in one of the communities within the university.
And is there someone that you look up to or see as an inspiration?
One person I thought of is Dr. Katie Bouman. It was on the news a few years ago, she is an astronomer who got the first picture of the black hole. There was this picture of her, a female researcher, being giddy and showing excitement in a feminine way, which I thought was really inspiring. Because often I feel like women are supposed to act kind of masculine when they're in a male-dominated field. But I really enjoyed seeing a woman in science acting in a feminine way in that sense. I like seeing that change in the world in general, that someone who acts feminine can be seen as knowledgeable and capable and as having achieved much.
How do you think we could inspire future female students to continue to pursue science?
I think representation is a good thing. I am very happy that I'm teaching in a bachelor's course, because then, early bachelor students get to see a woman in a male-dominated field. I'm happy to be the person who chose that. I don't know how well that works, but yes, I think it is important. But also representation in seeing who is hired, who is a teacher, and so on.
Looking to the future, what further changes do you hope to see?
I think a lot of my opinions are based on what I learned in WISE. Things like changing what is seen as important, so that it is not only achievements or research output, but also things like communication skills. Especially if you go up the ladder, being a good leader and being a good teacher becomes more important, and at some point, maybe that's all you do. And then I feel like those qualities should definitely be in focus, rather than how many papers you have. I think that those kinds of things can often be reflected in gender imbalance.
I often get kind of annoyed when I see someone who maybe has achieved a lot, but they have really bad personal skills, for example. Because they still get all these achievements in their work, but it just makes you think: you could have given these achievements to someone who's actually kind and makes people feel better and who is a good leader. I think that's something I would hope to see changing in the future.