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Welcome to my space!

Ciao a tutti, thanks for stopping by! I am Dr Teresa Ambrosio, PhD and I am the creator and founder of this website, in partnership with Women Transforming Science.

It’s a pleasure to share my journey of self-discovery and empowerment with all of you and inspire the next generation of women to achieve their true potential through science. I am a first-generation scientist and the first person in my entire extended family to hold a doctoral degree. Growing up, I didn’t have a role model or someone to look up to. The first time I met a scientist was during my first year at university, I was 19.

Growing up, I never thought that a career as a scientist was an option for me!

The default path for a woman like me in rural southern Italy was to get married and have kids. In fact, the accepted costume for women to feel accomplished and add value to their existence was marriage. This is all I have been exposed to. I refused this path and created my own one by leaving my small village and making it through the most prestigious research institutions in Italy and the United Kingdom.

I graduated with a BSc in Chemistry among the top 5% of my academic year and pursued an MSc in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry at the University of Rome. Then, I moved to the UK and graduated with a PhD in sustainable chemistry at the University of Nottingham in 2020. Through my education, I had the privilege to train in cutting-edge research labs supervised by brilliant and award-winning scientists. After my PhD, I successfully landed a job as a research scientist and created the life of my dreams.

The default path for someone like me to add value to their life was getting married and having kids.

Halfway through my PhD, I noticed that I was consistently the only woman in the room. I found it difficult to advocate and stand up for myself in such heavily male-dominated spaces (the percentage of female chemistry professors in UK is 9%). I struggled to make my voice heard, manage my job with my disability, and feel like I belonged in those elitist environments. This was when I decided to share my experience on social media, normalise those feelings and empower women to be stronger than their fears and impostor syndrome.

My profile was featured as one of the most inspirational scientists on social media multiple times. I was interviewed in podcasts, featured in prestigious magazines, such as the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry. I was invited to professional events to talk about my journey of becoming a scientist and presented my research at national and international scientific meetings.

The power of community ultimately encouraged me to create Women Transforming Science to empower the next generation of scientist!

I was heavily supported by my family and friends on this journey. Additionally, sharing my experience on social media allowed me to find a powerful community of women with whom I had the privilege to connect and supported me in some of my darkest professional and personal moments. The power of community ultimately encourages me to create Women Transforming Science and provide women with a platform to connect with fellow and like-minded scientists and feel like they aren’t alone in their unconventional and non-traditional journey of becoming the next generation of leaders and scientists.

If you want to know more and discuss your journey, career aspirations and progression, mentoring, and coaching, feel free to get in touch using the form below. The first chat is free of charge.