International Women’s Day 2025 | Let’s Celebrate our Remale Researchers – Interview with Mathilde Le Vu

In the context of the International Women’s Day 2025, the PREPSHIELD Project is proud to dedicate a series of articles to all the female researchers which carreers are inspiring for all.

We interviewed Ms Mathilde Le Vu, PhD Student at the University of Zurich.

Career and challenges

Could you share your journey to becoming a researcher? What inspired you to pursue this path, what challenges have you faced as a woman in your field, and what is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from these experiences?

Ms Le Vu: After high school, I did not have a specific goal in mind and I chose to do a bachelor in Biology at Université Bretagne Sud (Vannes, France) out of curiosity. In my final year, a microbiology course featured talks from researchers on various pathogens. Pr. Jean-Claude Chermann’s lecture on the co-discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1983 inspired me – he described it like an investigation. The fact that the AIDS-epidemic first appeared in the marginalized community of young gay men highlighted the important link between science and social justice, inspiring my path forward.

Thanks to Pr. Chermann’s talk and our motivating teachers, I chose to pursue a researcher career, earning a Master’s in Virology at Sorbonne Université (Paris). During my internship, I studied the interaction between a human protein and an HIV protein. While I enjoyed analyzing results, I realized lab work was not for me, leading me to a Master’s in Public Health at CNAM (Paris), where I gained expertise in epidemiology and biostatistics. After almost a year of unsuccessful PhD applications, when I almost gave up on a researcher career, I got accepted to the PhD program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in Zurich. Supervised by Pr. Kaspar Staub at the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, I studied how prenatal exposure to pandemics can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes like low birth weight or preterm birth. My research team gave me a lot of support during my PhD, and I successfully defended last February and will soon begin a postdoc at IRSET (Rennes, France).

Throughout my journey as a researcher, I have learned to persevere through difficulties – whether adapting my goal after my lab experience or overcoming challenges in finding an interesting PhD. I gained resilience along the way.

While I haven’t faced personal challenges as a woman in science – perhaps due to the high number of women in the field of Biology – there is a lack of representation of women in top scientific achievements: for example, only 5.7% of all Nobel Prize laureates are women, a number similar in Physiology or Medicine.

Role in the project

Q.: What do you do within the PREPSHIELD project? How have your studies and expertise enabled you to fulfil this role?

Ms Le Vu: At the University of Zurich, we are responsible for designing scenarios that could lead to an epidemic or pandemic. Our research team, led by Pr. Kaspar Staub, specializes in past pandemics, particularly influenza and its associated mortality. My role involves reviewing the literature to identify pathogens that could lead to a major outbreak in Europe, and summarizing their key epidemiological parameters, such as incidence or mortality rates, based on past outbreaks. My Master’s in Public Health and my PhD gave me the skills needed for this task, but as this is a highly collaborative EU Project, I also learn a lot by meeting other researchers, stakeholders, healthcare professionals, and people from NGOs.

Europe

Q.: At European level, do you think the research sector has become more open to women? What could be done to achieve greater equality between men and women in this field?

Ms Le Vu: Yes, there have been many initiatives to promote gender equality in Europe, for instance by the SNF in Switzerland, and other funding programs in other European countries. There are also events organized for women to help them expanding their professional network. Still, some challenges remain. I mentioned the lack of representation at the highest levels, which is perhaps related to the fact that women have a slower career progression. Research grants may improve gender equality by ensuring a blind process of selection, which is already done by some funding opportunities.

The balance between professional and personal life could also be improved with family-friendly policies, such as a paid parental leave that is long enough for both partners, offering childcare and a breastfeeding room at the workplace, and having the possibility to work from home at flexible hours.

Q.: As an expert, what do you see as Europe’s most significant challenge in your field?

Ms Le Vu: In recent years, there has been a tremendous increase in the numbers of publications in science, leading to what some call an “infodemic”. As a researcher, navigating this ocean of information to find the most relevant studies can be difficult. However, sharing scientific knowledge with the general public is also important. After the COVID-19 pandemic, I feel like a lot of people lost trust in the government, healthcare institutions and even science itself. This is why a focus of the PREPSHIELD project is to help building trust in healthcare authorities, particularly among vulnerable groups. By understanding their concerns and hurdles, we can work collaboratively to address their needs and improve engagement, with the aim of strengthening public confidence in science and healthcare.

Q.: Finally, what advice would you give to future generations of women who want to become researchers?