Nowadays, we are increasingly witnessing women exerting their influence by dedicating themselves to STEMM, contributing significantly to advancements and progress in these fields. As International Women’s Day (IWD) approaches, we stand in solidarity with the IWD 2024 initiative

"Inspire Inclusion" by celebrating women's achievements.

Today we had a talk with Meet Leticia Marcorin, Field Application Specialist and Laboratory Manager at MGI Brazil CEC, who was fascinated by biosciences in grad school. Leticia's seamless transition into genetics was a must, driven by an unwavering determination to understand and

unravel the mysteries of genomics. Her journey is a testament to the power of mentorship and the incredible impact it can have on shaping destinies. As a woman in genomics, Leticia's experience is a beacon of inspiration for others.

Q：Can you introduce yourself and your work at MGI?

A：My name is Letícia and I’m the Field Application Specialist and Laboratory Manager at MGI Brazil Costumer Experience Center (CEC), located in São Paulo.

Q：Can you describe what a typical day or daily routine would be like when you are at work? Or can you help us to understand a bit more about what’s the major responsibility of FAS and why you think it’s important?

A：I spent most of my time helping clients implement MGI products into their labs and future clients to understand how we can help them improve their routine. Now that we have the São Paulo CEC, I also spend a lot of time in the lab. Here we can test new products, help clients with tests and validations, train our distributors and local commercial team.

Q：You have been working in biotech for years, why are you interested in this field? And was there a specific reason that drove you to MGI?

A：Science had always fascinated me, but the biosciences field only became an interest in grad

school. I am a chemist with a minor in forensic sciences, and during my undergrad courses I developed analytical methods to detect drugs. I wasn’t thinking about biosciences at all at the time. But then, in my third year, I had molecular biology classes and I fell in love with it!

After graduation I started my master’s in molecular biology with the same teacher that introduced me to the field the years before. The jump to genetics was a must after that.

Even though I do like doing academic research I couldn’t see myself doing it as a carrier. I wanted to work with molecular biology and genetics in the industry market. MGI is one of the biggest

companies in this field today, so I was very happy to come along with the team.

Q：What’s the proudest moment in your MGI journey?

A：Planning and concluding the São Paulo CEC Lab. It was quite a challenge, but it definitely paid off. Now we have a fully equipped lab to support our LATAM teams and our clients. Come visit us and get to know the lab! It looks so nice!

Q：We know that the brazil CEC is opening soon. Could you please share with us how would the CEC lab enhances the development of regional genomics?

A：MGI is still a new brand in Brazil and the clients were always asking “but how does it work?”, “what if I need assistance and support?”. Now we don’t need to convince them with only words, we can dazzle them with a fully functioning lab! We have already had a lot of visits from clients and prospective clients, and I can assure you they were impressed. After they see what we can do, it’s much easier for them to imagine what they can do with our technology. The CEC helps clients see how our products work and understand how well equipped we are to support them.

With the CEC it’s easy for clients to test drive our equipment, start new validations, and optimize protocols. They can have their team trained in a lab with high-end technology and qualified instructors. And the CEC serves not just the applications team, but we also have an engineering lab for equipment maintenance and training, and BIT products working in the lab for demonstrations and reals analysis and training with our BIT specialist. The CEC is a big step into establishing MGI in Brazil and LATAM.

Q：What do you think of MGI’s technologies in Brazil? How do our technologies empower local customers and partners?

A：I think MGI has to potential to really push genomics forward in Brazil. The investments in science and technology in the country have suffered in the last few years, and being able to do good science with reasonable costs is a must. MGI offers great technology and quality results with a just price, which enables researchers to advance their research much more. Everybody knows innovation is expensive, but science should never suffer with it, as it is the core for all innovation. I think MGI has this in mind and will keep driving innovation and enabling its clients to push their research field forward.

Q：Genomics has always been considered to be a male-dominated field. What challenges did you face as a woman forging a career in genomics, and how did you overcome them?

A：The disparities are everywhere and affects all of us, but fortunately, I think I had a pretty good experience with female representation and gender equality so far. In college I had a lot of brilliant female teachers that were leaders in their field and, even though I was in STEM, my class was pretty much half female.  During my master’s and doctorate the majority of scientists in the lab was female, both here in Brazil and during my time in the University of Toronto. What I can say is that representation matters. Seeing women succeed in our field is important and I am very pleased to be part of it in events and interviews like this one.

Q：Women continue to be underrepresented in certain fields, including science and technology. How do you believe we can encourage and support more women to pursue careers in biotech or especially in genomics?

A：Well, the first thing is understanding women is just as capable as men, we just don’t get the same incentives. Girls should be encouraged to be more curious and think outside the box. They

should be given the opportunity and incentive to play with toys that stimulate those abilities, to go to science and computer camps and do hard science courses if they want to. And women need to be better represented in the media so people can see that they can be in leadership roles, they can do science and drive innovation in technology fields. If people need to see it to believe it, then

let’s show them. 

Q：Do you feel that your gender gives you a different perspective and experience from your male

counterparts? Any advantages?

A：It definitely does. Women and men are raised so differently it certainly shapes different views of the world. I don’t think one is necessarily better then the other, but having both perspectives in the room is surely an advantage. We can solve problems better when we have a more global

understanding of them.

Q：Aside from work, what do you do in your spare time?

A：I like to read and to travel, get to know new places and cultures. It’s a good thing São Paulo is the cultural melting pot it is, so even when I’m not travelling, I can find cultural events to go to here. I also like visiting friends. Since I’ve lived in different cities, I have friends scattered everywhere and I love going to visit and spending some time with them. Music is also something I love. You can say I collect concert tickets. I just feel at home in festivals and stadiums during shows.

Q：Can you share the coolest thing you ever did in your daily life?

A: I guess going to the North Pole to see the northern lights. I had this opportunity when I was living in Canada and I had to go. Even though the northern lights were not so good that week I still loved the trip so much. The community up there is just fantastic! And I do love the cold weather. I guess this Brazilian knows colder temperatures than most Canadians and probably likes it more too.