The biological journey of an organism from a single cell to a complex embryo is nothing short of epic. Developmental biologist Loydie Jerome-Majewska’s research program takes that journey a step further by identifying genes responsible for congenital malformations in humans and to delineate the cellular and genetic pathways regulated by these genes.

“Our group is focusing on disorders associated with changes in proteins for mRNA, a template for making DNA, and figuring out the molecule changes and what the consequences are,” said Jerome-Majewska, a professor at McGill University’s Department of Pediatrics. “The reason I’m interested in this group of disorders is that by the time a child is born, it’s difficult to treat a lot of these abnormalities. We’re looking for a common dysregulated pathway which we can target and design or find an intervention for in order to reduce the impact of these pathogenic variants.”

How Developmental Biology Became Her Career

Born in Haiti, Jerome-Majewska said she always had had an interest in nature as a young girl. “I wanted to know how the world worked,” she said. “I was lucky enough to be good in science, and my mom and dad nurtured that interest.”

After her family moved to New York City in the 1980s, Jerome-Majewska originally thought she’d go into medicine and become a doctor. But a seminar by developmental biologist Laura Grabel on how a zygote becomes a fully developed embryo soon diverted Jerome-Majewska’s career path. “I asked her if I could work in her lab [at Wesleyan University], before I even started college, and she said yes,” Jerome-Majewska said. “Being part of Laura’s lab was awesome because she treated me like I was a scientist, so then I thought I was a scientist.”

Jerome-Majewska went on to get her bachelors in biology at Wesleyan, her Ph.D. in developmental biology from Columbia University with post-doctoral trainings at Columbia University and Memorial Sloan Kettering Institute.

Gaining the Backing of Her Association

In 2016, another of Jerome-Majewska’s mentors, Kimberley Topp, suggested she get involved with AAA. “The people and are amazing and the leadership are open to new ideas. It’s one of those associations where the membership can do things. We can make the changes we want to see,” she said.

One of those new ideas was the Anatomy Scholars Program (ASP). Jerome-Majewska is the co-director of the successful AAA program, which seeks to increase the retention of Underrepresented Minorities (URM) within the first five years of their career as Ph.D. or MD professionals in academia who reside in the U.S. and Canada.

The program idea was partially inspired by Jerome-Majewska’s own experiences as a black, female student and early-career scientist. “When professors enter this field, it is quite isolating if you don’t have friends or a good cohort to support you,” she said. “In all the programs I’m involved in, community and relatability are important components.”

A sense of community also led Jerome-Majewska to co-found the Canadian Black Scientists Network. “I did all my studies in the U.S. and there weren’t that many black scientists and when I moved to Canada, I was busy and didn’t have a chance to meet many black scientists,” she said. “When George Floyd was murdered, we looked around and said, ‘Are we alone in our little bubbles?’ Tamara Franz-Odendaal, who is a board member at AAA, called me and she got four of us all on the call and we thought that that if we were feeling this isolation, others might be feeling this way too.”

In recognition of all her contributions to the anatomical sciences and to AAA, Jerome-Majewska was named an AAA Fellow this year. “It’s really cool. I feel like the senior person in the room now,” Jerome-Majewska said. “It does mean something. It means that the membership sees me as someone they value. It also gives me the chance when I use my voice to say, ‘Look, I have the backing of my association.’”

“I’m really grateful to my colleagues for valuing my work and giving me these awards. I didn’t expect to ever win awards. I was just going along and doing my things. But even if you don’t expect awards, it means a lot,” she concluded.