Love What You Do: Career Inspiration

In this episode, Dr. Cherie-Ann Nathan joins hosts Dr. Gopi Shah and Dr. Ashley Agan to discuss career inspiration and learning to thrive with an inspiring attitude.

Dr. Nathan describes her initial journey into Head and Neck Cancer through inspirations she had as a child growing up in Mumbai and going to medical school, through her research at Johns Hopkins in Head and Neck Cancer, followed by residency at UCSD and current chair of Otolaryngology at LSU-Shreveport. She describes the importance of being able to balance your professional life and with your personal life and using that to guide career decisions. She then discusses how her interest in Head and Neck Cancer, inspired when she was younger, spurred her dedicated research undertakings and progress at LSU-Shreveport, funded by the National Cancer Institute and the NIH.

Dr. Nathan continues to speak about job satisfaction and being able to balance saying yes to opportunities but knowing when to say no; balance is key though hard to attain at times. She then continues to stress the importance of intentionality and dedication to research early on in careers and navigating the world of academic research, including mentorship, grants, and networking. Additionally, being open to network with different institutions and resilience in the setting of rejection in research, with learning and persistence, is vital to a successful research career.

Dr. Nathan rounds up the discussion in speaking about her experience as a woman in Otolaryngology, becoming a Chairwoman, and the various challenges that come with leadership positions, noting the progress that women in Otolaryngology have made with and will continue to. She ends by stressing the importance of consistent hard work and to start early, and in loving what you do, the motivation to do so is endless.