Four couples who show us that we don’t need to be alone in the lab on Valentine’s Day
It’s hard to imagine falling in love while working in the lab. Bright fluorescent lights, eyes strained from the microscope, and that one vent that always makes a weird noise—personally, it doesn’t really put me in the mood for romance. But hey, if you are feeling lonely this Valentine’s Day while working on your thesis project, then I am here to tell you that this feeling does not need to last forever. In fact, you don’t even need to download any apps to find “the one”! There are many scientists who have found their beau in the exact situation you find yourself in now. Who, you ask? Well, here is a list of some of science’s most impressive partnerships for you to strive to copy.
Rosemary and Peter Grant
Famed in the Ecology and Evolutionary Department at UofT for their work studying Darwin’s finches, Rosemary and Peter Grant are a research power couple. They met at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and since then, they have greatly contributed to our understanding of evolution by natural selection. Their pivotal research began in 1973, focusing on Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands. This work even led to an honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Toronto in 2017. It is beautiful to listen to the pair talk about their joint life in science, navigating parenting while in the field, dealing with incidents like a close encounter with a shark, and potential resentment when you work in the same field. Rosemary and Peter Grant are truly every evolutionary biologist’s goal, or at least this ecologist’s goal.
Gerty and Carl Cori
Pioneers in the study of biochemistry, the Coris deserved a shoutout on this list. Gerty and Carl met at the Carl Ferdinand University in Prague, in their first year of studying medicine. Alongside a passion for their schooling, the couple also loved mountain climbing and research. Eventually, the couple emigrated to the United States, where the Coris actually faced opposition for working as a husband-wife partnership. Their collaboration was successful despite this opposition. So successful, in fact, that in 1947, they won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how lactic acid is converted to glycogen in the liver. We now know this cycle as the aptly named Cori Cycle. Their story is one of endurance, with their research endeavours almost being stifled at many turns. In the end, they have a beautiful legacy that we can all but hope to emulate one day.
Jerome and Isabella Karle
For all my STEM friends who dream of an academic rivals-to-lovers romance story, this is your sign that hope is not lost. Meeting at the University of Michigan, Jerome and Isabella were paired together for a physical chemistry laboratory. Isabella describes how their first interaction went so poorly, they ended up not talking to each other for a while. Despite this silence, and competing for the top grade in that class, they ended up making this list! Later on in their careers, the Karles collaboratively created a method to determine molecular structures. It is important to note that while Isabella’s work was integral to understanding experimental structures, she was not awarded a Nobel Prize like her husband was. Interestingly enough, Isabella was not as upset by this snub as her husband was. Ultimately, their story should show you that your hope for a tension-filled academic-rivals love is not yet out of luck. Keep yearning, my dear researchers!
Belinda Tan and Noah Craft
Couples continue to make waves in their field, and Tan and Craft are no exception. This couple met in the MD/PhD program at UCLA, and eventually founded a business together. People Science was the child of their joint passion for decentering what is known as ‘traditional Western medicine.’ Using their Western scientific and medical training, they study plant-based medicines, probiotics, food as medicine, and more. Like many other couples who pursue the same field, Tan and Craft talk about how they work on their relationship and certain unconventional choices they may have made, including being co-CEOs of their company. Their commitment to their shared passions and research goes to show that working together is the best way to achieve your goals.
These couples, and countless others that I couldn’t include, go to show that being in the lab doesn’t prevent you from finding love. Each couple persevered through their own hurdles of working in a partnership, whether that was being looked down upon by others or trying to navigate balancing personal and academic life. Regardless, these issues can be overcome. So, at the end of a long workday, pipetting bacteria or staring at museum collections, you shouldn’t feel discouraged! Just like this list of impressive scientists, you will find your boo—maybe even at work!
