Women in STEMM return from Antarctic adventure
Three UNSW scientists have returned from a voyage to the Antarctic wilderness after being selected for a unique professional development scheme.
Published on the 17 March 2025 by Elva Darnell
Scientists Negin Nazarian (left), Celine Valery (centre) and Selene Fernandez-Valverde (right) were selected for the Homeward Bound program.
Three UNSW scientists have returned from a voyage to the Antarctic wilderness after being selected for a unique professional development scheme.
Homeward Bound is a year-long training program that aims to empower women and non-binary people in STEMM to lead a sustainable future. The program culminates in a two-week expedition to Antarctica.
UNSW urban climatologist Associate Professor Negin Nazarian, opens in a new window, who joined over 120 other STEMM leaders on the voyage, says stepping onto Antarctic shores was "both breathtaking and heartbreaking."
“The impact of human activity is etched into the very landscape, in melting glaciers, abandoned whaling stations, and shifting wildlife patterns,” says Dr. Nazarian.
“What happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica. It influences the climate we experience in our urban environments, and the threads of our shared future are woven across continents and oceans.”
Homeward Bound participants on their way to visit a colony of Adelie penguins on Paulet Island, Antarctica.
Photo: Selene Fernandez-Valverde
Renewed passion for preservation
Genomic data scientist Dr. Selene Fernandez-Valverde, opens in a new window and Associate Professor of Pharmaceutics Céline Valéry, opens in a new window also represented UNSW on the annual voyage.
Dr. Fernandez-Valverde, who specialises in how RNA (ribonucleic acid) regulates gene expression in plants and animals, says she hopes to apply her expertise to creating sustainable biotechnologies for diseases, agriculture, and conservation.
“Antarctica is genuinely magnificent and reignited my appreciation of the natural world,” says Dr. Fernandez-Valverde.
She believes the preservation of the polar regions should be a top priority for humanity.
The scientists visited a Gentoo penguin colony at Port Lockroy Goudier Island, home to the UK’s most southerly public post office, nicknamed the Penguin Post Office.
Photo: Selene Fernandez-Valverde
Icy insights driving sustainability solutions
The trip was far more than an adventurous holiday. The scientists slept in two- to three-person capsule cabins, endured seasickness, faced five-meter waves to reach the Antarctic wilderness and participated in a training and education program.
The program included sessions on Antarctic science and nature, as well as leadership and professional development focussed on supporting the group in addressing the planet’s greatest challenges.
The STEMM leaders embark from an expedition to their boat, The Island Sky.
Photo: Negin Nazarian
A/Prof. Valéry, who’s spent her pharmaceutical career working at the nanoscale, exploring how molecules can be engineered to make new antibiotics or anticancer medicines, says the voyage, “was a powerful reminder of the bigger picture— especially scientists’ responsibility to apply their expertise beyond the lab.”
“We are living in a time when facts are increasingly challenged by misinformation, and now, more than ever, we need visible scientists who can clearly communicate evidence, ideas, concepts and solutions.”
Adapting to an unpredictable environment
The training operated on a flexible schedule that depended on the weather.
“Adapting to a fast-changing environment is an important leadership quality, and we exercised that constantly during the voyage,” says Dr. Fernandez-Valverde.
She adds that the group also had opportunities for relaxation and rest.
“When we were not working or networking, we would contribute to our collective art project, exercise, work on a puzzle, or just enjoy the beautiful landscape outside — it was revitalising.”
Dr. Nazarian says such connections, stories, and identities “shape the work we do and the future we fight for.”
“And that future depends on us coming together, across cultures, disciplines, and continents, to protect this planet we all call home.”