Think differently

Asked to reflect on my own research and career after being selected for the great honor of the Women in Cell Biology Mid-Career Award for Excellence in Research, I found myself contemplating not only how I approach my own science but also how this approach contributes to the larger scientific enterprise. Here I discuss my motivations and their impact on how I conduct my research as one example of the myriad ways to be a scientist. I invite you to consciously consider how, as scientists, we view one another’s unique approaches and argue for the importance of diversity of perspective in scientific progress.