Testimonials from Women in Science Members

Dr. Marwa Sallam, a senior researcher at Brown University and CRS leader, shares her journey of navigating motherhood, international research, and scientific collaboration. Her story exemplifies the importance of perseverance, cross-cultural teamwork, and the value of community within the Controlled Release Society.”

Dr. Marwa Sallam

The Controlled Release Society (CRS) has given me more than professional connections, it has offered a true sense of belonging within a global community united by a commitment to advancing drug delivery science for real-world impact. As I reflect on my professional journey, I recognize how deeply it is interwoven with my personal identity: an Egyptian woman, a wife, a mother of two daughters, and a scientist driven to make a difference. Every step forward has required navigating complex decisions, cultural transitions, and the ongoing challenge of balancing family, career, and self.

I was born and raised in Egypt, in a quiet inspirational home. My father, a university professor, was my earliest role model for his deep respect for education, dedication to science and his quiet perseverance through his battle with cancer. My mother, a chemist, chose to leave her career devoting herself to raising and educating us. From her, I learned the value of family, sacrifice, and unconditional support. Painfully, during my final year of pharmacy school exams, my father passed away at the age of 55. His illness & loss was a profound personal tragedy and a turning point in my life. I was determined to honor his legacy. In Egypt, academic positions at public universities are fiercely competitive and reserved exclusively for the top-performing undergraduates. I had to keep my GPA at the very top to secure a position. Despite the emotional weight, I graduated from Alexandria University with distinction and honors at the top of my class knowing that academic excellence would be my way forward.

Soon after graduating, I began a new chapter, starting my academic career and building a family. While pursuing my Master’s, I had my two daughters and it was the beginning of a life-long balancing act; planning research with babies in my arms, supervising lab sessions after sleepless nights and early mornings preparing my children for school, and later preparing lectures while organizing my daughters’ intense gymnastics training alongside their British-system schoolwork. Yet balancing a demanding academic career and family life in Egypt was often challenging, especially amid social expectations that women prioritize home life over career ambitions, limited research funding, few collaborative opportunities, and almost no support for translational research. Driven by my scientific curiosity and desire to broaden my perspective, I sought research opportunities abroad. Over the following years, I was awarded multiple international fellowships that that enabled me to conduct research visits across Europe, including at the University of Granada and Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe in Spain, and the EPGL in Geneva, Switzerland. These visits were critical in shaping my expertise and widening my perspective. I collaborated with researchers from diverse cultures backgrounds, and disciplines gaining not just technical training but a deep appreciation for global science. read more

Assaf Zinger is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He leads a research group focused on biomimetic nanoparticles for drug delivery and immunotherapy. Beyond the lab, he is a father of two, a proud husband, and a reserve officer in the Israeli Defense Forces.

My journey into science has never been linear. It has been shaped by the enduring belief that science can- and should- serve humanity. Born and raised in Israel to grandparents who were Holocaust survivors, I inherited a deep sense of purpose and resilience. During the recent war, I was called to serve over 120 days while managing my lab remotely and mentoring my students through Zoom calls from the field.

In parallel, I am raising two young daughters, Ayala and Tamara, whose endless questions about life, nature, and kindness fuel my curiosity as much as any grant or publication. Becoming a father radically reshaped my scientific lens. It inspired me to launch my ERC-funded project “MILKOSOMES,” which explores how human breast milk proteins can be used to protect therapeutic molecules through the gastrointestinal tract. The science is deeply personal. The first time I watched my wife feed our daughters, I found myself in awe- wondering: How is this nourishing their bodies? How is it shaping their immunity? That moment of curiosity sparked a scientific journey that now lies at the forefront of oral drug delivery.

Balancing military service, fatherhood, and scientific ambition hasn’t been easy. But through every challenge, I’ve found strength in community- especially in the global scientific network I now feel privileged to be part of. The Controlled Release Society has been a key part of that journey. At the heart of it all is a simple truth: it’s our responsibility to leave a better world to our kids- through science, and through the choices we make every day.

One of the most unexpected turning points in my scientific journey happened not in a lab or a conference- but in a barbershop.

It was a regular Friday, and I was waiting for a haircut in my hometown when I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. We chatted about nanotechnology, drug delivery, and big dreams. By the time my name was called, I realized I had been talking to Prof. Avi Schroeder, a leading scientist in nanomedicine and a faculty member at the Technion.

That 15-minute exchange turned into a mentorship, a friendship, and ultimately helped shape my path toward returning to Israel and joining the Technion myself. Avi encouraged me, challenged me, and most importantly, believed in me.

It’s moments like these that remind me how unpredictable and human the scientific journey really is. A barbershop conversation can become a gateway to a lab. Human breast milk can inspire a breakthrough. A soldier in the field can still be a scientist in spirit- dreaming on making this world a better place.

So please, Carpe Diem!

Anna Beloqui

How am I balancing career and life? I do my best! I don’t think there is a “one fits all” in this matter, and I probably wouldn’t be the best example if there was. What it works for me, won’t probably work for someone else. 

As weird as it might sound, in my young days, being in the lab became kind of my “hobby”. I used to be one of those people that was always in the lab and there was never a schedule or a time to go back home - until I had kids. That completely changed the way I worked and made me prioritize my tasks to be as efficient as possible within a given time. There is always this moment in your career - or at least this was my case- when you feel you are failing at work, for not spending enough time, and at home, for not spending enough time neither! Whatever you do, whatever the time you spend, or all the impossible things that you are capable to do within a day, you feel you are failing. That “guilt” that kills you and follows you to whatever you do, or what you don’t do. I started to be even feeling guilty when there was a moment of the day when I was not working! 

I started my research group and had kids at the same time: this is me, everything at the same time, chasing big emotions! One thing that really helped me out when I started was to analyze how and when I was more efficient: I work better in the mornings and at nights, and after lunch I would rather have a “siesta”! So, I put my sport at lunch time, because it works for me. I have the same meetings scheduled each week on the same day of the week so that I do not become “too” crazy with my calendar. Every beginning of the year I tell myself the same lie: “this year I will travel less and say no to more things to be less stressed”. This is not true and will never be true in my case, I guess, but I have learnt not to say it aloud so that my husband does not remind me every-single-time that I leave or take any assignment that I said that this year was going to be different! I mean, I know that you know that I know that it is not true, no need to tell me! But I am very lucky because he is always there to support me. He always tells me how proud he is for everything I have achieved, and having someone so supportive by my side, even if he doesn’t understand “that love for working”, is unbelievable. 

Something that was hard in the beginning for me was travelling. I knew it was something I had to do, and I wanted to do, but leaving the kids behind was difficult. I started buying a present for the kids every single time I left…now the kids are super excited every time I have a meeting: “yey, mum is leaving!!!”. Yes, probably not the smartest decision, I still regret it, but it helped. The truth is that what it really helped was to be honest with myself: I love my family, but I love my job also. This is me. I started telling the kids about my work, the conferences, and tried to transmit to them how much this meant to me. Not only how important this is to me, but also how important it is to do something you feel passionate about. The best piece of advice that someone has ever given to me was before giving birth for the first time, and it has since become like a mantra to me, was: “Remember Ana that everything that a kid needs is a happy mother”. The moment I realized that this is what makes me happy and that being happy makes the people I love happy, I started enjoying every second of it, without feeling guilty. There are always these other moments of the year when you feel overwhelmed, and you feel “you are losing it”. These days I breathe, I tell myself “one thing at a time”, I force myself to do more sport, and I would probably go to whatsapp and talk to friends to release some stress. I have always felt very lucky to be surrounded by people who support me, who encourage me to push myself to do what I want, to become who I want to be. I have never felt the pressure of competing, but I have had that feeling of not giving my 100%. At the end of the day, the important thing for me is that I am satisfied with what I am doing, and if I am not, it is time to change something to make it happen. I try to always adapt to be in a position where I am enjoying what I am doing, doing the work I have to do, without losing control, which is not always so evident.

How do I balance career and life? With passion, and patience, and acknowledging that I will never again be awake at nights to finish the Netflix series!