Celebrating MDR's Women - Dr Elita Jauneikaite

To mark Women at Imperial Week, we interviewed three of MDR's outstanding female staff. In our second interview, we spoke to Dr Elita Jauneikaite.

"I think that people in senior roles are instrumental in supporting and advocating for women’s career advancements and equality in academia." Dr Elita Jauneikaite

Supporting women throughout their career journey is essential for fostering gender equality in the workplace. To gain insight into the challenges, opportunities, and support systems that shape women's professional experiences, we spoke with three MDR staff members from different areas of the Department about their career paths and the lessons they've learned along the way.

Dr Elita Jauneikaite, Lecturer in Microbiome and Bacterial Genomics

Tell us a bit about your career, background, and current role

I am Dr Elita Jauneikaite, a new lecturer in Microbiome and Bacterial Genomics at the Institute of Reproduction and Developmental Biology. My group is investigating evolution of bacterial pathogens, their interactions within microbiome and antimicrobial resistance. With this research we strive to improve the health of vulnerable patients, and expectant parents, in particular women, and their newborns.

I am originally from Lithuania, I moved to UK to do a BSc in Microbiology, after which I moved abroad again and completed a doctorate in bacterial bioinformatics and genomics at the ASTAR institute in Singapore and University of Southampton, UK. I then returned to the UK to work as a postdoctoral researcher at Imperial. Following this I was awarded a 4 years Imperial College Research Fellowship to investigate Evolution, transmission and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Group B streptococcus, a bacterial pathogen primarily causing infections in newborns. During this time, I also became the research lead for NIHR Health Protection Research Unit in Priority Pathogens leading a team of five members. We have a primarily focus on investigating outbreaks, hospital acquired infections, pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance of clinically relevant pathogens including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus agalactiae, and other species. Throughout my career to date, I have always been part of multidisciplinary work, and I collaborate with a lot of colleagues across the Imperial, NHS, UKHSA, nationally and internationally.

Can you share a time when you felt supported in your career journey by a colleague or mentor?

I feel that I have been very lucky to be surrounded by very supportive peers and have found the Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre (PFDC) to be a very helpful in providing advice, as well as providing opportunities to meet colleagues who are also facing the same challenges of growing their careers and research. I have found that having senior members among the faculty who are willing to provide advice, support and encouragement really makes a difference – as well as providing a good reality check on occasion. I think that the most influential people and those who I owe my huge thanks to them for supporting me and being available for a chat at different stages of my career are Dr Paola de Sessions, Dr Frances Davies, Prof Kate Baker, Prof Shiranee Sriskandan and Prof Alison Holmes.

What has been the proudest achievement of your career so far?

I consider two achievements to be the proudest of my career so far. One was when I spoke with parents whose babies had been affected by Group B streptococcal infections as newborns. They expressed how much they appreciated the collaboration between scientists and clinicians in working to prevent such infections in babies. It was incredibly rewarding to hear that those directly impacted by the infections that I am researching recognise and value the efforts being made, and they believe the research will have a meaningful impact.

Another proud moment was when I led a group of master's and PhD students, along with research postdocs, and realised how well everyone was working together. It was inspiring to see the students making significant progress, developing their research skills, and how smoothly the projects were advancing, with publications coming together. The team was cohesive and enthusiastic about the research. It’s incredibly rewarding to watch my students and early-career researchers grow throughout their research journey as they acquire new skills and personal traits.

Have you ever experienced imposter syndrome or self-doubt in your career? How did you overcome it, and what support did you find helpful?

As I know from discussions with my friends and colleagues, we all experience self-doubt at various points in our careers – I feel this is perhaps an inevitable part of a research career, where funding cycles can be brutal and uncaring, and research does not always proceed to plan or in the direction you might first have expected. I also feel that this is an important step to overcoming these feelings – acknowledging that it is a fairly normal part of a career.

In many ways, not having doubts or not second guessing your decisions to make sure you are making the right choices is more likely to lead to ultimate failure than occasionally questioning your decisions. Always remind yourself of what you have achieved and put whatever the current issue is in perceptive; speak with your stakeholders, and find some time to do something that helps find calm and reflect.

Imperial has some great resources and training available through the Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre (PFDC) with a range of helpful workshops and courses, some of which are specifically tailored for women (e.g. Women Springboard), that I have benefited throughout my career to date. Through attending these, I not only have learnt more about myself and learnt some strategies to apply in my career, but I have met great peers that we keep in touch and support each other.

In your opinion, what role can people in senior positions play in supporting and advocating for women's career advancement and equality in the workplace?

"Build your support network with peers that you can trust and support each other and share experiences as you go through the ups and downs of your career." Dr Elita Jauneikaite

I think that people in senior roles are instrumental in supporting and advocating for women’s career advancements and equality in the academia. Senior people are in the position where they can really influence change and provide access to the right support that is needed for women such as making sure that flexible working is allowed, that persons with caring responsibilities are not excluded from important meetings due to those commitments and providing appropriate and timely mentorship and encouragement. It is important that colleagues in senior positions get to know their group members and colleagues, especially those in more junior positions, and to pro-actively take up mentorship roles (even not official ones) and initiate discussions about available support as well as provide encouragement rather than waiting for the mentee to approach them to talk.

What advice would you give to women who are just starting their careers, based on your own experiences?

I would advise to talk to people, aim to step outside your comfort zone, meet someone new and build your support network with peers that you can trust and support each other and share experiences as you go through the ups and downs of your career.

Make sure (find a way) to enjoy what you are doing every day – if you enjoy your work/your research if you are engaged you will engage others in the work that you are doing. If you feel you are not doing something that you find exciting – explore and try something new.