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Why Science? Christine Surrette and Lisa Lowery

Why Science? Christine Surrette and Lisa Lowery
christine and lisa

GE Research is celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science by launching our newest feature: Why Science? The researchers, engineers, and technologists at GRC who help see, move and create the future come from varying backgrounds with varying experiences. And while no two paths are the same, there is one common thread – a love for science.

Why Science? explores where our employees’ paths began – when and how their love for science was born. For some, it may have been a favorite teacher or a gifted science kit; for others, science may run in the family. The stories told will be fun, insightful, and may even inspire the next generation of scientists!

Our first Why Science? features two of the three female GRC employees who co-lead our COVID-19 lung study.

christine surrette

Christine Surrette
Operating at the intersection of engineering and biology, Christine automates sample prep and assays through the use of microfluidics, novel instrumentation, sensors, or system integration. She is a lead biomedical engineer in GE Research’s Microsystems discipline with a knack for designing and developing next generation bioanalytical microsystems. Her projects are helping scientists and doctors better understand, on a cellular level, how and why the human body functions the way it does. Christine has been with GE Research for nine years.

So, we asked Christine… Why Science?
“I grew up in a family of engineers and scientists – my mom, my dad, my uncles, my aunt, my grandpa, and my siblings. For us, engineering and science was a lifestyle, not just a job or discipline. I grew up with my dad performing (often messy) science experiments in the dining room (drove my mom crazy), my mom explaining the parasympathetic response we get after large meals, dinnertime conversations about how things work, ‘spare parts’ after a family activity of repairing appliances, and the general growth mindset of always asking ‘why?’ The running joke as kids was that our future job/career wasn’t invented yet – and here I find myself in research.

lisa lowery

Lisa Lowery
A lead scientist in the Biosciences group, Lisa is a major player in GE Research’s COVID-19 lung study. She has been with GE for 17 years and has worked on many multidisciplinary teams. Lisa’s work spans development and characterization of in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation and oncology, but her more recent focus includes three areas: gene modification of cell lines, vaccine and drug delivery, and characterization of cells in neurodegenerative diseases and oncology using GE Research’s Cell DIVE multiplexed imaging technology.

Hey, Lisa… Why Science?
“Since as far back as I can remember, I have always been interested in science, specifically biological science. As a child, I would play in the backyard by watching the ants and worms in the grass and would have so many questions about them. I was continuously in awe from what I learned in my science classes from junior high right through college. My parents would support and encourage me to enter my school’s annual science fairs or participate in the local Science Olympiad. I believe being able to answer questions and make discoveries, some with the potential to help others in the world, is so satisfying and energizing. With the constant support of my parents and my innate interest, science was always something I gravitated towards and my science classes always felt like play time; it was only natural I would eventually have a career in science where every day I get to learn and play!”

 

Pictured at the top: Christine at her 5th grade science fair (left); Lisa at the aquarium (right). 

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