The Lonely Pipette : helping scientists do better science

TLP #21 : Find your own way - Ana-Maria Lennon-Dumenil

Jonathan Weitzman & Renaud Pourpre Season 2 Episode 11

This week, Ana-Maria Lennon-Dumenil tells us about her passion for science interfacing with physics and her journey from Santiago to Paris

  • Ana-Maria was inspired from a very young age by her namesake Ana-Maria Lenon
  • She quickly left genetics because ‘DNA doesn't move enough’
  • She stresses that every Principal Investigator needs to find their own way and warns against trying to imitate others
  • Ana-Maria feels that the biggest mistake is to think that everyone in the lab is like you (instead of appreciating how different they might be)
  • She stresses the need for optimized communication in the lab and the need to clearly articulate expectations
  • She learnt the hard way that ‘management is not natural’
  • Ana-Maria laughs about the fact that she was too short to be a chemist
  • She describes the challenges of finding a common language in interdisciplinary research collaborations
  • She also insists on the role of parents in giving confidence to girls at an early age to become scientists

She mentioned these institutions, researchers and resources

To find out more about Ana-Maria visit her websites or follow her on Twitter : 


To find out more about Renaud and Jonathan :

More about the soundtrack :
Music by Amaria - Lovely Swindler https://soundcloud.com/amariamusique/