The behavioural neuroscientist researching women’s mental health wants to see more female representation in science, soccer and beyond.
Dr Jodie Pestana, a post doc in the School of Psychology, is researching how female-specific experiences, such as the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, change the brain’s ability to regulate anxiety and respond to treatment. In 2021, she won UNSW’s 3MT for her presentation on pregnancy’s lifelong effects on the brain.
Jodie says most of our scientific and medical knowledge is based on the male brain and behaviour because females are routinely excluded from studies, including those on anxiety, yet women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder compared to men.
“I'm really interested in increasing female representation in scientific and medical research to improve women’s health, and I have a strong passion for science communication as well so that’s one way I’m aiming to do this,” she says.
In October last year Jodie was a national finalist in the Western Australian Museum’s FameLab in Perth.
“I did drama in school, so I love the opportunity to mix theatre and storytelling together to share science with the public – which I feel we don't do enough of as scientists. In Famelab, you share your research in an entertaining and theatrical way using a prop. We performed on stage in a room full of people and it was livestreamed. It was great fun with a wonderful group of people,” she says.
Women in soccer
Jodie has been playing soccer since she was five, when she would get up at 3 to 4 o'clock in the morning to watch games on the TV with her dad.
“My teams were Manchester United, and Portugal, where my parents are from. But everyone I watched then and all my football role models were men. Women weren't represented,” she says.
“The Women's World Cup in Australia was really remarkable, because women were celebrated as football players on a global scale. Of course, there's still a long way to go before females are equally represented to males. It’s not just in sport, but in many other important areas of society, including scientific and medical research. The Women’s World Cup was a really promising example of where we can go,” she says.
Jodie continues to play soccer, although not at the moment, after a recent operation due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Finding the parallels
During high school, Jodie enjoyed ‘creative’ subjects like music and drama, but says she was a “class clown” in science because she didn’t find it interesting.
“Then I started a Bachelor of Psychology at UNSW because I wanted to better understand how humans interact with the world, and how we experience things within ourselves and with other people.
“I had no intention of becoming a clinical psychologist, I was just interested in increasing my knowledge. Then I realised how creative scientific research is and I was fascinated by it. From there, I decided to follow that love of creativity and do a PhD in behavioural neuroscience.
“Science is one of the most creative things I've done. I write music and find that playing soccer is creative too. They are all similar in terms of finding patterns, creating new ideas, and problem solving.”
Can you tell us something about you that might surprise your colleagues?
1. I'm scared of heights, but I've bungee jumped and skydived because I strongly believe that pushing yourself outside your comfort zone helps you grow.
2. I’m a singer/songwriter and am currently self-producing an album with my brother.
What's the best advice you received?
Choose your top five values and try to use them every day. If I'm aligned with my values like creativity, being challenged, and spending quality time with my family and friends, I'm much more energised for everything including work.
What’s one thing that makes you happy?
Spending time in nature and playing music are two things that bring me so much joy, sometimes to the point of happy tears.
What day in your life would you like to relive?
In 2016, I went to Portugal with my mum who hadn’t been back since she was five. Feeling that connected to place, people, and culture, was beautiful.
What's the best thing you've watched in the last year?
I went to a lot of the World Cup games last year but Denmark vs the Matildas, when Caitlyn Foord scored that amazing goal, was such an electric atmosphere.
Watch Jodie’s 2021 3MT presentation on YouTube: A Mother’s Brain: A Lifelong Journey.
- Log in to post comments