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Hannah Lamont

Increasing Perspectives: The Importance of LGBTQ+ Scientists Throughout History

Audience: High School Students


According to the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, members of the LGBTQ+ community are about 20% less represented in STEM. Photo by Joyce Hankins from Unsplash.


According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the acronym “LGBTQ+” refers to “one’s sexual or gender identity.” The acronym stands for (L)esbian, (G)ay, (B)isexual, (T)ransgender, (Q)ueer, and other orientations. In 2021, Ipsos conducted a global survey which concluded that the global average of LGBTQ+ identifying people ranges from <1-4%, depending on generation. This means that there are fewer LGBTQ+ identifying people worldwide than there are people in the United States!


Within STEM jobs, members of the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to be seen as less than their peers, have negative impacts on their careers, and even experience harassment, no matter their level of education nor their skill level in respect to their career. Despite these challenges, LGBTQ+ scientists have made and will continue to make an incredible impact on the scientific community.


Rochelle Diamond, who is lesbian, is a specialist in a number of things, including cell separation (the process of purifying various types of cells) and flow cytometry (a method of measuring the health of cells in tissue by measuring the percentage of live cells, size, shape, etc.) Since 1982, she has been a researcher and lab manager for Ellen Rothenberg’s (a professor at Caltech) developmental immunology group, where she uses her vast knowledge in both cell separation and flow cytometry. Despite her long-standing job at Caltech and extensive knowledge in her field, Diamond hasn’t always been supported by the scientific community. In 1981, she was removed from the City of Hope/Genentech research team, which was responsible for cloning the human gene for insulin, following her coming out as lesbian. When she was hired by Ellen Rothenberg, she was one of the only openly gay people on campus and received much criticism for her orientation, including hate mail.


Diamond has engaged in activism throughout her life, wanting to ensure that everyone could feel comfortable being themselves in their workplaces. She has done activism for the Women’s Center, the AIDS pandemic, started the LGBT group, was on the first board for Lesbian and Gay Health and Health Policy Foundation, and is on the LGBTQ Working Group for CCID. Diamond has been unfortunate enough to experience various forms of discrimination for her sexual orientation, but this has not stopped her from working hard to further the scientific community, or from making the world of STEM a better place for future LGBTQ+ scientists. 


Ben Barres, is best known for his work in researching glial cells (all non-neuronal cells in the brain and spinal cord), which were previously thought to only hold neurons in place. Due to his research, we now know that glial cells do much more than act as glue for neurons, including immune defence in the brain and spinal cord, nutrient support for neurons, repairing damage to tissue, and communication between neurons.


He is widely respected for making his research methods and discoveries publically available and for his advocacy for women. As a transgender man (a person who transitions from female to male), he empathized with women and spoke on his experiences, from both a female and male perspective, of life and science. After discovering his gender identity, he was hesitant to transition because of the anticipated consequences it would have on his career (grants, labs, meeting invitations, reputation, family, friends, etc.) Thankfully though, his career wasn’t affected by his transition, and he instead received overwhelming support from his colleagues, friends, and family. Coming out as transgender offered Barres much relief, which allowed him to be a better scientist. He is a perfect example of how an additional perspective can allow for the bettering of science. 


At 15, Jack Andraka discovered a new way to detect pancreatic, lung, and ovarian cancer. His method involves the use of antibodies (proteins that bond to targeted substances in the bloodstream) that are sensitive to mesothelin (a protein that is at a high level in the bloodstream during early stages of the cancer) to change the electrical charge in a sample of blood. His method is 90% accurate, which is a huge improvement to the previous method of testing for pancreatic cancer. Moreover, Andraka’s method is also 168 times faster, costs $0.03, and takes only five minutes, which makes the test much more accessible. 


Apart from his groundbreaking scientific work, he is also an advocate for increasing LGBTQ+ representation in STEM. He has found that, although there are LGBTQ+ people in STEM, the people that lead institutions tend to be straight, white male. Thus, as a young scientist who has been openly gay since he was 13, he sometimes feels like he doesn’t belong. Andraka has spoken at length about the benefits of having different perspectives in STEM fields; innovation comes from taking a new perspective on an existing process or thing, as he did with his cancer-testing discovery. 


Diamond, Barres, and Andraka are all stellar examples of LGBTQ+ scientists who have made a huge impact on the world of STEM, but remember that there are more cases of LGBTQ+ scientists all throughout history; no matter their number of awards or articles, they are an important piece of history. Increasing perspectives has allowed for STEM to evolve to what it is today, and with any luck, we can continue to foster growth in STEM.  As scientists, inserting our voices into the scientific community and uplifting others to do the same is what makes a difference.


Bibliography:

Barres, Ben. “The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist” The MIT Press Reader, 11 Jun. 2020. https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-coming-out-of-a-transgender-scientist/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.


Boyon, Nicolas. “LGBT+ Pride 2021 Global Survey points to a generation gap around gender identity and sexual attraction” Ipsos, 10 Jun. 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210610112136/https://www.ipsos.com/en/lgbt-pride-2021-global-survey-points-generation-gap-around-gender-identity-and-sexual-attraction. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.


Brennan, Dustin. “Why Science Prodigy Jack Andraka Says STEM Needs More LGBTQ+ Representation” Modern Wellness Guide, https://www.modernwellnessguide.com/lgbtq-empowerment/why-science-prodigy-jack-andraka-says-stem-needs-more-lgbtq-representation/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.


Caltech. “Rochelle A. Diamond” Caltech, https://www.bbe.caltech.edu/people/rochelle-a-diamond. Accessed 8 Mar, 2024.


Cech, E. A., & Waidzunas, T. J. “Systemic inequalities for LGBTQ professionals in STEM” American Association for the Advancement of Science, 15 Jan. 2021. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abe0933. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.


Goldman, Bruce. “Neuroscientist Ben Barres, who identified crucial role of glial cells, dies at 63” Stanford Medicine, 27 Dec. 2017, https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/12/neuroscientist-ben-barres-dies-at-63.html. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.


Higuchi, A. “Chemical and Biochemical Transformations in Membrane Systems” ScienceDirect, 2010. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/cell-separation. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.


National Cancer Institute “flow cytometry” National Cancer Institute, https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/flow-cytometry. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024. 


National Centre for Atmospheric Science. “Looking through the lens of LGBTQ+ people in science” National Centre for Atmospheric Science, 24 Feb. 2023. https://ncas.ac.uk/looking-through-the-lens-of-lgbtq-people-in-science/. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.


Neuroscientifically Challenged. “2-Minute Neuroscience: Glial Cells” Neuroscientifically Challenged, 28 Aug. 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwES6R1_9PM&t=21s.  Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.


Roome, Sam. “Ten LGBTQ+ Scientists You Should Know About” Hello Bio, Aug. 2023 https://hellobio.com/blog/ten-lgbtq-scientists-you-should-know-about.html. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.


United States Census Bureau. “Census Bureau Projects U.S. and World Populations on New Year’s Day” United States Census Bureau, 28 Dec. 2023 https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-new-years-day.html. Accessed 20 Mar. 2024.


Zierler, David. “Managing Director, Flow Cytometry/Cell Sorting Facility, and Lab Manager for Dr. Ellen Rothenberg's Laboratory” Caltech, 21 Dec. 2021. https://heritageproject.caltech.edu/interviews/rochelle-diamond. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.


500 Queer Scientists. “Rochelle (Shelley) Diamond” 500 Queer Scientists, https://500queerscientists.com/rochelle-shelley-diamond/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2024.

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