Happy World Embryologist Day! Today, we celebrate the incredible individuals who dedicate their lives to making dreams a reality and nurturing the beginnings of life itself. Is there a greater hero than an embryologist?
For this special occasion, we had the pleasure of interviewing one of the internet’s icons: Diana Tain, also known as Embryologist_Musings. Her work has inspired and educated countless people, but what sparked her journey? Join us as we delve into the inspiring story of this remarkable individual:
MX: What inspired you to pursue a career in embryology?
DT: I would say that embryology pursued me rather than the other way. After graduating with an Undergrad degree, uncertainty was in the forefront dictating my decisions and I needed to explore my options. After a short discussion with a senior I looked up to from university, she shared with me her profession as an embryologist. It was naive of me to think that IVF was NOT being practiced in Malaysia and my journey started from then on. I was very fortunate in landing the job at the first fertility centre I applied to despite not being prepared for the interview! Although knowing NOTHING and being tested for IQ, math and spatial reasoning skills, the lab tour sold me on a profession much bigger than myself and that I would be able impact individuals and families for many generations to come. When my then senior embryologist and clinician sat me down for a reply, there was no hesitation. The answer was a resounding YES!
MX: Can you share a memorable success story from your career that highlighted the impact of your work on patients' lives?
DT: To be honest, I don't recall most stories that I come across but I do remember a recent nerve wrecking occurence during an embryo transfer which is more often no frills and slow paced (provided the uterus is perfectly anteverted). A soon-to-be competent junior embryologist was placed in my task list for me to tag her in this procedure that she has done many times that I believed I was standing there just to assure the clinician that my young colleague knows her job. She did not expect to have the blastocyst lodge itself in the catheter and neither did I and this was happening in real-time in front of the patient, clinician and fertility nurses. Calmly, she passed the catheter to me and I had to dislodge the blastocyst from the catheter, remove the bubble attached to the blastocyst and place the blastocyst back down at the bottom of the dish for me to reaspirate into the catheter. My now competent young colleague was by my side the entire time bringing me the tools for manipulating the blastocyst and the clinician and nurses were very silent and patient waiting for me. In any of these maneuveurs, it could have been too easy to lose the blastocyst but thankfully, she was pregnant from that successful albeit tumultuous transfer.
MX: How do you maintain emotional resilience and empathy while working with patients experiencing the highs and lows of fertility treatments?
DT: The good news are the best, isn't it? The bad ones are unbearable for me. It was NOT easy at all, especially as a young adult fresh into work. I never knew what the patients were experiencing and would go home bawling if there was ever an adverse outcome. Emotional resilience comes with practice and lots of it. Present day, I learned over time that I needed to separate my emotions from theirs. It's possible to empathize with them, set boundaries to my emotions and simultaneously help them to regulate theirs. Essentially, every patient just wants to be heard and validated if they are the vocal kind and if they are more reserved, we would need to constantly assure them that we left the "door" slightly ajar for them if they need us for support or clarification.
MX: As an experienced embryologist, what advice would you give to aspiring professionals considering a career in this field?
DT: I have so many!!!!! but let me summarize it in 3 points
1) You need to cultivate Grit and flexibility
Being an embryologist means that you need to master skills to execute a task and in mastering skills, one needs to put in time and effort to perfect a skill. Trust me, there will always be setbacks in training to be a good embryologist. I am almost at the 10-year mark and I am nowhere near perfect. When the setbacks come at you again and again, guess what would help you to keep at it. That's right - Grit. If you have this - your continual progress knows no end. Concurrently, flexibility is also required as the field of IVF is evolving fast!
2) Value Honesty and Integrity above all else
These 2 traits found in an embryologist are the most valuable and unfortunately cannot be measured until a blunder happens in the laboratory. Always, always be honest in what has transpired in the laboratory no matter what the repercussions are for it shall protect you, your honor, and your job.
3) Be Humble and Inquisitive
Learn how to say "I am sorry" and "I am wrong, thank you for correcting me" (when it is really your mistake) as this is the easiest way to learn. How? You'll get it when you start practicing this mindset.
MX: Your social media accounts beautifully combine your passion for embryology with artistic expression. How did you first discover this unique intersection of science and art?
DT: Thank you very much! You should've seen my earlier works... They are hideous and NSFW. Haha! It started when my colleagues and I discussed that we did not have a platform where embryologists actually had direct contact with patients to educate them about Assisted Reproductive Technologies and during the pandemic, I had too much time on my hands and started drawing simple illustrations on my iPad. Furthermore, I have a fun and playful streak in me that I cannot necessarily take on during my working hours because obviously being playful may lead to careless mistakes n in the laboratory and that's a disaster in the making. But I can be playful in my illustrations so this creative part of my career took on a life of its own by understanding what the common IVF patient needs and supplementing with fun images.
MX: Could you share with us the story behind your decision to start illustrating news from embryology papers on social media?
DT: This is going to make me sound like a mean person..... No offense to all authors I have ever illustrated papers for in the past, present, and future. I love reading scientific papers and I learn well with words but sometimes, it's arduously boring that there aren't any pictures that come together with it for clarification and even if there are any, it would likely be a grayscale image. I yearn to make the paper interesting for me and make it as scientifically accurate as possible so anyone who understands the "in a nutshell" illustration would read the paper in depth.
MX: How has this creative outlet enhanced your connection with your audience?
DT: I found like-minded people from all around the world who share the passion I have for learning and wanting to educate patients undergoing Infertility treatments. It seems like I do not benefit at all from illustrating papers, but I get “paid” with the personal and professional friendships and connections I have made these few years and they are all so very precious.
MX: How has your background in embryology influenced your artistic style, and vice versa? Are there any specific themes or messages you aim to convey through your illustrations?
DT: First of all, I did not go to Art School... Haha! And second - I don't think I have a particular style. Are colorful pieces a "style"? If you notice on my social media page, It is very messy - VERY all over the place as almost all of my illustrations are drawn impromptu and if the colors fit then they make it onto the final piece. Makes it harder for AI to replicate too!
MX: Your illustrations often simplify complex scientific concepts. How do you approach the process of transforming technical information into visually engaging content for your followers?
DT: I would approach concepts methodically and selectively. Anyone who is an avid reader of scientific papers in our field would know the famous names related to a particular field of interest. Purposefully, their names would have to be deleted from my mind so that every paper that I come across has an equal chance to be read and possibly illustrated.
The first question I would ask myself (in the case of selecting a paper to illustrate) is does the paper appeal to me? as the first reader of the paper because if I don't find it intriguing or at the very least informative, I would never be able to summarize it.
Next is, "Would I be able to summarize it (or part of it) beautifully into an illustration?" You would be surprised that some are immensely complex or are not well-written with clear objectives and definitive conclusions. For instance, I don't illustrate much on Genetics and Epigenetics but believe me - I tried.
Finally, I question if the world needs to know this. Sometimes not necessarily so but I think it needs to be propagated and so they'd go out into the world wide web.
MX: Have there been any particularly memorable or impactful responses from your audience to your illustrated posts?
DT: It's a shame I don't have any specific memory or interaction but only because I value every DM, comment or verbal communication that I come across that encourages me to continue illustrating for myself and others. I think I try to treat all my successes and failures the same to keep me level-headed so I neither fixate on the positives and become proud nor on the negatives and become depressed and discouraged.
MX: How does this feedback influence your future content creation?
DT: Most of the time I get "Keep doing what you are doing!!!" so I'm like "Okay... I will keep at it..." but not really knowing exactly what I am doing until the next wave of inspiration comes when I am at work and another illustration is born.
MX: As an artist and an embryologist, what advice would you give to others looking to merge their passion for science with creative expression?
DT: No better time to start than NOW. Just do it and start somewhere. Screw up terribly and make mistakes but always cultivate the habit of improving and progressing. You will find your people and your craft will take root and blossom in the most unexpected ways. All the best!
We are more than inspired by Diana and her passion for embryology and her dedication to sharing knowledge with the world artistically. Follow Diana on her social media channels to stay connected and continue learning from her valuable insights. Happy World Embryologist Day to everyone!
