A Day in the Life of a Scientist: Molly Simon

She woke up at 5:30 AM to the sound of her alarm clock radio humming the tune Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.? She smiled to herself at the coincidence.? Yesterday as she was leaving the lab, she left an “under pressure” sign on her equipment so the lab technicians would know not to mess with the pressure pump overnight.? She was running a virus filtration study with two promising molecules and didn’t want to compromise the safety of the people working in the lab or the accuracy of the study results.? She is also very meticulous about her lab equipment – everything is labeled and color coded.? You always know when Molly Simon is in the lab that day because her notorious bright pink extension cord provides a splash of color against the grays, blacks and whites of the flasks, beakers, and spectrophotometers.

Today was the second and final day of the study, and she wanted to be energized for another day of using her passion for science to solve problems and make someone smile while doing it.?

She slipped on a pair of jogging sweats and her purple Hoka running shoes, grabbed her head lamp, and hit the pavement for her morning run.? The trail was still wet from the nighttime rain, and occasionally her shoes splashed into a small puddle.? This was her time to clear her head and get ready for the day.

When she returned, one of her dogs greeted her at the door, barking happily.? She loved how both her dogs were always enthusiastic about the little things in life.? She embraces this attitude herself, always seeing the bright side of every situation.? This mentality keeps her motivated, as science requires a lot of patience and experimentation until you achieve your desired result.

The only thing she loves as much as her morning runs and fractionating cells in the lab is the 16-ounce thermos of Starbucks iced coffee she enjoys during her commute to work while listening to her favorite podcast, Wine and Crime.?

Caffeine is a scientist’s beverage of choice because, how else will you fuel yourself to improve human life, one molecule at a time?

She steps into the lab feeling energized and already curious to see how the filters performed overnight.? "Good morning, Molly!” one of the other scientists greeted her cheerfully.? “We talked with the team yesterday and were wondering if you could give us a lunch and learn session on filtration.? We are so impressed by your knowledge on this topic, and many of the scientists in this lab want to upskill in this area.”? She hadn’t even checked the data from yesterday’s study and she has already been reminded why being scientist at MilliporeSigma feels like being a superhero.