Amparo Cano

Amparo Cano was born in the town of Cieza, Murcia, in the south-eastern region of Spain. She obtained her bachelor degree in Biology from the University of Valencia in 1974 and her PhD degree in Biology from the University Autonoma of Madrid (UAM) in 1978. Her PhD project was performed at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) Institute of Enzymology and Molecular Pathology, Madrid (now the Institute of Biomedical Research, IIB). She then moved to the USA for postdoctoral training, first at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and then at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1981 she returned to UAM and has been there ever since, initially as a postdoctoral fellow, then associate professor and now as a full professor. Amparo is currently vice-director of the IIB.Go



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Amparo Cano with her mother in 1985.

 

Amparo's research over the past 15 years has been devoted to understanding the role of cell adhesion in tumour development and progression. Since her initial observation that loss of E-cadherin is associated with tumour progression, she has concentrated on understanding the molecular mechanisms of E-cadherin downregulation during tumour invasion and metastasis.

In the interview below, Fiona Watt, Editor-in-Chief of JCS, asks Amparo about her experiences as a woman in science.

FMW: What changes for women in science have you observed during the course of your career?

AC: When I started my PhD the number of women scientists where I worked was higher, about 25% of the scientific staff, than at other centres in Spain. I think this was because biochemistry was an active research area in the country at that time and happened to have attracted quite a few female scientists.

One of those women was Gertrudis de la Fuente, who, together with Alberto Sols, played a major role in introducing biochemistry research in my country. Dr de la Fuente was among the few Spanish women who undertook postdoctoral training in the USA in the early 1960s, a time when even the presence of women at university in Spain was considered quite strange. Dr de la Fuente was a strong influence on my scientific career, because I admired very much her courage in `breaking the rules' in a rather closed and traditional Spanish society.

A few years later, molecular biology started to be developed in Spain, led by some of the former postdoctoral trainees of Severo Ochoa. One woman who had a prominent role in this task was Margarita Salas. She made significant contributions to the molecular biology of phage {Phi}29 and is still a strong and active presence in Spanish science.

Looking back, I realise that I was quite fortunate to be a PhD student in an institute where women scientists were already becoming established and in a field in which there were already renowned female scientists. I think that the influence of those pioneering women is largely responsible for the fact that the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology have a strong and increasing presence of Spanish women.

During the past 20-25 years, one of the major changes I have observed is the increase in the number of women who are heads of laboratories and even scientific departments in my country. At the IIB the number of female lab heads has increased from about 25% when I was a PhD student to almost 50% at present. However, even though more than 50% of PhD students are now female and women represent about 40% of the total scientific staff of many Spanish biomedical research centres and university departments, the proportion of women in the highest scientific/academic positions is only about 15-20%.

When I was promoted to a full professorship in 2000 I did not experience any kind of opposition because I was a woman. This is a major change compared with 15-20 years ago, when it was really hard for a woman to get one of the highest academic positions in Spain, particularly in a faculty of medicine. Nevertheless, I am still the only female full professor in our department.

The presence of women on scientific committees has significantly increased in recent years in Spain. My personal experience is that women constitute about 25-30% of members of such committees. Clearly this figure should be higher. So, although Spain has experienced positive changes for women scientists in the last two decades, it is clear that their situation is still far from being equal to men.

FMW: How has your research career impacted on your personal life and vice versa?

AC: When I was in the last year of high school, I was determined to extend my studies in biology, although at that stage I had not yet decided to become a scientist. This was an important and somewhat difficult choice for me, because it meant that I would have to leave my town and my family to enrol at university. At first my parents were not very happy with my decision. I was the youngest of a very close family; none of my two brothers and two sisters had gone to university; and the economic climate was unfavourable. However, I had the unconditional support of my sister Pascua, and my parents were soon convinced of my determination when they saw my efforts to obtain a scholarship (these were very few in number and poorly paid at that time). Since then my parents always provided their support and never questioned my career, even when I decided to study for a PhD and they realized that I would never be coming back to work in our small town. By that time they were already rather old, and I am certain that my being away from home was a strong sacrifice for them, particularly during my stay in the USA. During my years as an undergraduate and the first years of my PhD training the political situation in Spain was very hard. This was during the last years of Franco's regime. A strong movement against his dictatorship had formed at universities and other institutions. This was heavily repressed and all academic activities at some universities were suspended for several months in the early 1970s. I participated in several prodemocracy demonstrations in Valencia and also in Madrid. I still remember our determination to defend democratic rights and our fear of being arrested. In fact, some of my friends (now also scientists) were imprisoned because of their political affiliation with the Communist Party. In spite of the political turmoil those times were very fruitful and rich, both for my personal and for my professional development. Some of my fellow scientists who joined in the demonstrations back then are still my best friends now.

Overall my research career has impacted positively on my personal life. However, I have had to sacrifice one important aspect of my personal life in order to develop my career. I have had to live apart from my partner for the last 15 years, because Madrid offers much better opportunities for my scientific career than the town in Spain where he is based. Fortunately, he has been very sensitive and respectful of my career and we have found a way to keep our relationship alive during these years. I am really grateful to him, because I am certain that without his understanding and support my career would not have developed in the same way.

I am well aware that the fact that I have no children has had a positive effect on my career. I did not decide against having children because of being a scientist, but it has given me more flexibility to organize both my scientific interests and my personal life. However, I am absolutely convinced that my career has benefited from the strong support of my closest family (particularly, my parents at the beginning and my sisters and brothers until now) and friends. I have also greatly enjoyed the companionship of the talented and outstanding students and colleagues with whom I have had the luck of teaching and collaborating over the years.

FMW: Do you feel that being a woman is an inherent advantage/disadvantage for a career in science? Why?

AC: Personally, I have never felt that being a woman was a burden, nor have I been favoured because of it. However, I think that in general it is a disadvantage for women, mainly if they have children. During the years that I have been devoted to science, I have known several women who either gave up a scientific career or rejected offers of the highest scientific/academic positions because of their greater responsibilities towards their children. Most of them suffered because they did not have enough time to dedicate both to their children and to the lab. So, in general, I think that being a woman has inherent disadvantages for a scientific career, not because of the professional requirements but because of the social structure in which women still display more dedication to the family than men do.

FMW: What are your remaining career ambitions?

AC: One of my remaining ambitions is to consolidate the line of research that I embarked on years ago at the IIB. I will be very pleased if some of my former PhD or postdoctoral students get stable positions (something that is very hard in Spain at present) and continue fuelling this field. In addition, I would be really pleased if some of my current basic research could contribute to increased knowledge of cancer progression and, particularly, if it could have some clinical applications. I know this is only a dream at present, but my lab and other groups are working hard to make it real.





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