A Mother's day Special: Seeking Work-Life Balance in Science and Motherhood
- Amélie Fournier
- Apr 15
- 1 min read
Updated: May 16
Marlene Belfort, renowned biochemist and UAlbany professor, is the author of a new memoir, Mommy, Can Boys Also be Doctors? A Message to Young Scientists and Other Humans (May 2025).
The memoir explores the often-daunting struggle to find happiness, meaning, and simply enough minutes in the day to be a leader in scientific research and — at the same time — a loving mother to three sons. She is extremely candid about her difficulties, including two lengthy bouts of major, late-onset depression, one in her fifties, the other in her seventies.
Belfort is a pioneer in the study of introns— non-coding segments that make up 25% of the human genome. Once dismissed as “junk” DNA, introns have been discovered to have a wide range of important functions. Belfort is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Watch the full conversation here:
Cosponsored by UAlbany’s RNA Institute and the Department of Biological Sciences.
Meet Marlene Belfort
4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8
Multi-Purpose Room, Campus Center West
1400 Washington Avenue, Albany NY 12222
Comments