For women in academia, the imposter syndrome is not just an internal insecurity, it is also a combination of external unconscious biases that still exist about their competency as scientists, mentors, and teachers. Sparking difficult conversations about these biases are essential for change. This talk was filmed and edited by TVM, Student Television at McGill.

Dr. Alexandra Simond is a science communicator, educator and researcher. She is comfortable starting conversations about women’s place in academia and the struggles they face every day. She graduated from McGill University in 2014 with first class honours and spent the last 7 years studying preclinical mouse models of breast cancer in the goal of suggesting alternative patient therapies. Her scientific expertise and creativity culminated in 3 first author publications in leading scientific journals including Genes & Development. During this time, she spent 2 years as Chair of an organization that ran scientific conferences for students and staff. With her extensive teaching experience, she has spent the last 6 months developing study material for 60+ topics of biology covering the curriculum of 30+ North American universities. She now hopes to use her skills in science communication and public speaking to have cutting edge scientific discussions in the goal of advancing patient care. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx