LGBTQIA+ Representation and Creating Inclusive Environments: A Q&A With Dr. Raquel Cuella Martin
Raquel discusses her lab's research interests as well as her experiences working as an LGBTQIA+ researcher in STEMM.
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Raquel Cuella Martin earned her PhD from the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, where she described the role of a DNA repair protein in response to “The Guardian of the Genome” – the tumor suppressor p53. During her postdoctoral work as an EMBO long-term fellow at Colombia University, she used CRISPR-dependent base editing to characterize mutations in DNA damage response proteins. Since joining the Department of Human Genetics at McGill University in 2022, her research has focused on using cutting-edge genome editing to understand the DNA damage response and probe its association with human disorders.
In this interview, we spoke to Raquel to learn about her research, her experiences working as an LGBTQIA+ researcher in STEMM and her advice for others beginning a STEMM career.
Q: Can you tell us about your research interests?
A: My research interests revolve around the DNA damage response. We use genome engineering-based approaches to tackle outstanding questions in this area.
During my postdoc, I worked on the adaptation of high-throughput precision genome engineering tools so that we could study protein function at high resolution, going from generating the full loss of a protein to being able to generate point mutations within a protein. This technology is extremely powerful and allows us to systematically analyze protein function and identify new protein–protein interactions that were otherwise hidden.
Specific projects we are working on now include trying to separate the functions of certain proteins in the DNA damage response in the repair of the DNA lesion from the control of cell cycle progression. Some proteins control both processes at the same time and it’s very hard to tease apart those functions. When those proteins are involved in tumorigenesis, you want to know how each function contributes to the end result. We have developed a recent interest in using these kinds of approaches to identify druggable sites within proteins.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working in STEMM? What would you say are your proudest achievements?
A: One of the things I like most about my job is that we are always surprised by how nature works. You often have an idea and a model at the start of a piece of research, a lot of the time what you are investigating doesn’t work how you think it did. I really like that – I like to be challenged. I like that you have to be critical of your results, and sometimes you have to understand that the way you thought something would work is not how it works. I think there is something beautiful in understanding even if it’s just the truth of how two proteins come together or how a process works. This has been exciting to me since I did my master’s and PhD – or even my undergrad.
In my current position as an assistant professor, one of the things that I enjoy the most is mentoring students. I’ve always felt very proud when I had that eureka moment. But I think it gives me more satisfaction to see my trainees reach those points when they come to me and say, “I think this is what is.” Getting them to build their critical thinking skills and grow as scientists is one of the most fulfilling things about my job.
You could say that mentoring is the part of my job that makes me the proudest. The end goal, traditionally, is to publish that paper or get that grant – but that, to me, is not very fulfilling. In my lab, what I’m most proud of is when I see my trainees happy in their day-to-day and enjoying science, not just working hard towards an end goal. Being able to get them to understand that they need to find their passion and find joy in the details of their day-to-day, that makes me proud. When I go around the lab, I see them happy, and I see them working and motivated. It’s like being able to be able to inspire the next generation.
Q: In your opinion, what are some of the main barriers for LGBTQIA+ people entering and progressing within STEMM?
A: Some employers, not that they don’t have goodwill, sometimes fail to understand the realities LGBTQIA+ people face. Even in my workplace, I have had to explain to senior colleagues a couple of times what they/them means. Those senior colleagues might be unconsciously or consciously mis-assigning pronouns to nonbinary people who could be working for them. I have seen gender breakdowns to see how many men and women are working in an institution, and it is still very binary and is assumed based on external appearance. You could be in a workplace and people don’t understand that you have a partner, and in my case, my partner is a woman, that relationship dynamics might be different. It’s very easy to make those realities invisible, to not be able to acknowledge or understand them or understand the challenges they could face.
Additionally, if you don’t see yourself represented in an industry, you are never going to think that’s your place. In my workplace, I am in a cis male-dominated institute, so it is hard even for me to see myself represented there.
Q: Have you faced any obstacles in your career due to identifying as LGBTQIA+?
A: I thought very carefully about this question because I thought not when I initially read it. But then the more I think about it – and though I don’t think I’ll categorize them as obstacles – I have heard comments here and there. There are things that you can’t shake away, and no matter which institution you are in or where you go, you still hear them. To give you an example, I have been open about my identity as a lesbian woman since the early days of my career and on social networks, participating in initiatives to give visibility to the community. In the environments I have been in there haven’t been any issues, but I have heard comments that are perhaps diminishing my achievements because of equity-seeking policies. I have heard things like, “If you write that you’re LGBTQIA+ when you apply for a grant, you might get it easily.” I think that that’s just not right. I feel like I always say that I have been lucky, but we need to stop thinking that we are lucky when we don’t face any obstacles, because nobody should face any.
When I participated in Faces of Cell I heard the comment, “Do you want to be known for your research? Or do you want people to only read your research because you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community?” And I think, how are those two things separate from each other? If other young lesbian girls or other people from the LGBTQIA+ community can see me as a role model then that’s good, and if somebody reads the paper only for that, that’s also good. If there are equity-seeking policies that might bring more resources to traditionally discriminated groups, go for it, because there is a long way to go to bring everybody onto the same opportunity level.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to young LGBTQIA+ researchers beginning their career, what would it be?
A: I always say that it might be an uphill battle, but your ability to change the environment that you are in is beyond what you can imagine. We always tend to gravitate towards safe places, but STEMM is not going to be a safe place in many institutions, and we need to work to create those safe places. So go for it, don’t get discouraged, support yourself and people who have had the same experiences and educate yourself and the people around you. It’s an uphill battle, and sometimes not one that you want to fight. But your place is here, in this field, in this job – so fight to create those safe environments for yourself and everybody else.
Dr. Raquel Cuella Martin was speaking to Dr. Sarah Whelan, Science Writer for Technology Networks.
About the interviewee:
Dr. Raquel Cuella Martin is an assistant professor in the McGill School of Biomedical Sciences. She earned her PhD in clinical medicine at the University of Oxford and did a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, New York. Her research currently focuses on studying the DNA damage response using cutting-edge genome editing techniques.
