In this episode, you can step into the shoes of Susana Isabel Pinheiro Cardoso de Freitas, one of the leading voices in nanoelectronics and magnetic sensors, recognised among the 100 Women in Science and a Corresponding Member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences.

Susana grew up in a home where curiosity had no gender — learning car mechanics, woodcraft, physics, and traditional skills side by side. This open upbringing shaped her path into engineering and her belief that people should choose careers based on joy, not expectation.

A mother of five children (and a dog!), Susana shares her honest reflections on balancing family with an intense scientific career, why she never sought leadership yet grew into it, and how she now works to keep her team inspired, supported, and equipped including through her involvement in major initiatives like the MultispiAI project.

Tune in to hear Susana’s perspective on
• gender dynamics in high-tech fields
• leadership driven by purpose, not power
• the importance of contributing actively to your environment
• and finding the path that truly fits who you are

This episode was produced by AMIRES, the consulting company for research, development and innovation projects. "In Her Shoes" podcast, uncovers the journey and life of women in science 👩‍🔬 and is hosted by @Jana Mwangi

In this episode, you can take a walk in the shoes of Prof. Cecilia Sahlgren, whose curiosity led her to the fascinating world of cell communication and Notch signalling, even asking: “Can we repair a broken heart with Notch?”. She never envisioned becoming a scientist - yet today, she says it’s the best job in the world.

From Finland to Sweden and the Netherlands, now Cecilia Sahlgren is a part-time Associate Professor at the TU/e Department of Biomechanical Engineering (Soft Tissue Engineering & Mechanobiology group) and Professor of Cell Biology at Åbo Akademi University in Turku, Finland.

Her research explores how cells make decisions, how their microenvironment shapes tissue formation, and how this knowledge can be used to tackle diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders. She is also pioneering micro-tissue development, creating models that mimic real human tissues and conditions. Prof. Sahlgren also leads the EU-funded Nap4DIVE project, developing non-animal models for studying nanoparticle drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier.

🎧 Tune in to hear Prof. Sahlgren’s views on cultural diversity and leadership in international teams, what she looks for in postdocs, and her reflections on bias and inequality in academia. Though she recognizes the barriers many women face in science, she has never allowed them to disturb her path and now leads with awareness, empathy, and example.

This episode was produced by AMIRES, the consulting company for research, development and innovation projects. "In Her Shoes" podcast, uncovers the journey and life of women in science 👩‍🔬 and is hosted by @Jana Mwangi

In this episode, you can take a walk in the shoes of Prof. Vicenzina Barbera, a professor in the courses of Chemistry and of Environmental Chemistry at Politecnico Milan. Her research topics range from synthetic organic chemistry to catalysis, materials for tires, and sustainable flexible electronics, funded by Italian, European, and company grants.

We will explore her journey and interesting work on projects like ECOTRON, which aims to transform electronics with recyclable, flexible materials, and discuss why circular thinking is key to our future.

🎧 Tune in to hear how science, creativity, and sustainability come together to tackle some of the challenges we have.

This episode was produced by AMIRES, the consulting company for research, development and innovation projects. "In Her Shoes" podcast, uncovers the journey and life of women in science 👩‍🔬 and is hosted by @Jana Mwangi

In this episode, you can take a walk in the shoes of Dr. Delphine Bourdon a passionate leader at the forefront of decarbonizing France’s major research center CEA. From her work on the EU-funded Zimba project- paving the way for sustainable energy innovations- to her candid reflections on being a woman in a male-dominated field, Delphine shares both the progress and the persistent barriers in STEM.

We discuss what real leadership looks like, why diverse voices matter, and how resilience drives transformation.

🎧 Tune in for a powerful conversation at the intersection of science, sustainability, and equality.

This episode was produced by AMIRES, the consulting company for research, development and innovation projects.

"In Her Shoes" podcast, uncovers the journey and life of women in science 👩‍🔬 and is hosted by Jana Mwangi

Listen to an inspiring conversation with Dr. Erika Györvary, a multilingual leader and scientist-turned-innovator who transitioned from nanotechnology research to business development and technology transfer across life sciences, MedTech, agriculture, sustainability and environmental monitoring. As the Lead of European Affairs at CSEM, Erika plays a key role in shaping innovation and collaboration on a global scale. She also serves on several international boards, driving strategic initiatives in science and technology.

In this episode, Erika shares:
✨ The professional title that fulfils her most
🌿 How her Karelian grandmother shaped her journey
🚪 Feeling lost with many doors open—and how she turned the page
💡 Advice for young scientists navigating their careers
🔬 20 years at CSEM, her global impact, and groundbreaking projects—from pregnancy monitoring to organ-on-chip technology
👩‍🔬 Why diversity and gender balance drive innovation
💪 How women’s superpower can bridge missing skills
🚀 The future of MedTech

Get ready for a powerful discussion on science, innovation, and breaking barriers. Let’s dive in! 🎧
This episode was produced by AMIRES, a consulting company for research, development and innovation projects.

#WomenInScience #TechnologyAndDiversity #genderequality

In this 5th episode, you will hear a story of a Prof. Ioanna Zergioti (National Technical University of Athens) CEO, professor, leading expert in laser printing and one of the world's foremost scientists. She was one of the pioneers in demonstrating the use of laser printing for the solid-phase transfer of DNA. With experience from top-tier labs, she has co-authored over 200 publications and holds 7 patents.

#Listen to discover:
- Advances in laser printing technology

- Our longstanding partnership

- About notable event Graphene week
- The role that diversity and gender dimensions play in scientific research and innovation.

This episode was produced by AMIRES, a consulting company for research, development and innovation projects.

#WomenInScience #TechnologyAndDiversity #genderequality

In this episode, you will experience the vibrant Colombian spirit and warm personality of Clara I. Osorio Tamayo —a mother of two, a physicist and a leading figure in quantum technology. For the last 20 years, her focus has been on quantum technologies and has contributed to R&D projects for the Semiconductor, Medical, and Defence industries. She is currently leading TNO (the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Applied Research)’s Quantum Sensing activities and is part of the core team of the Dutch Catalyst Program on Quantum Sensing. She holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Quantum Physics from ICFO (Spain) and worked at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and AMOLF (The Netherlands) before joining TNO.

• She'll share how growing up in one of the most violent nations at the time shaped her.
• Why she was drawn to a profession of the future.
• Who promoted a growth mindset that empowers girls to embrace challenges?
• What is the latest solution in quantum sensing and why companies should consider applying for Qu-Test & Qu-Pilot open call.

Let’s discover how her journey began.

This episode was produced by AMIRES, a consulting company for research, development and innovation projects.

In the third episode, you can take a walk in the shoes of Nerea Zabala Unzalu, who is a professor at the University of the Basque Country - UPV/EHU and a member of the Theory of Nanophotonics research group. She started her scientific career in the 90s in Spain, and after her PhD, she was literally disconnected from research during her two maternity leaves, as there was no internet at that time. She continued her research activity in the emergent field of plasmonics and photonics, which is the reason why she participates in the POSEIDON project. How has the experience of being a female scientist evolved and influenced her perception of gender inequality in the field? Listen what she has to say.

This episode was produced by AMIRES with the support of the POSEIDON nanophotonics project.