In this episode Martha and Indira have a conversation with Melanie Woodin, an internationally recognized neuroscientist who studies the mechanisms underlying learning and memory in the brain. Melanie has recently been named the University of Toronto’s 17th president, the first woman to assume this position. 

Prior to this appointment, she was dean of the university’s Faculty of Arts and Science—Canada’s largest and most comprehensive faculty. She completed her bachelor of science degree in biology and master of science degree in zoology at the U of T and obtained her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Calgary. Following postdoctoral study at Berkeley, she joined the U of T as an assistant professor in 2004 and has spent her entire academic career at that university.

Typically, we have interviewed women who have either completed their leadership roles or are in the final years of their respective assignments. In this episode, we are pleased and excited to be interviewing a remarkable woman who is just beginning her term as president—who is embarking upon her journey, rather than completing the role. 

It was so interesting hearing from Melanie, her perspective as she takes on this new role, what she is feeling, learning, and experiencing in the first weeks of her presidency!

Episode Resources
•Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021.

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Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

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