NEWS
At Umeå University’s Annual Autumn ceremony at the end of October,Malin Sund was inaugurated as Sweden’s first female professor of surgery. Her specialisation is in cancer surgery.
Malin Sund received her MD from the University of Oulu, Finland. She obtained a PhD in molecular biology from the same university in 2001. During 2003-2005 she worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA. She received her surgical training at Umeå University.
She is a newly installed professor at Umeå University and also works as a surgeon at Norrlands University Hospital with a focus on breast surgery, where she acts as head of the breast and endocrine surgery section. Her research interests are tumour stroma, matrix biology and cancer biomarkers. In addition, Malin Sund is an editor at the British Journal of Surgery (BJS), international secretary at the Swedish Surgical Society and board member of the Swedish Society of Breast Surgery.
What does it feel like to be appointed Sweden’s first female professor of surgery?
“It of course feels great being appointed professor, but at the same time it’s completely absurd that there’s not been a female professor of surgery before now! I’d like to point out, however, that there are three female co-opted professors of surgery. So I was a bit surprised that my appointment was to a large extent about my being a woman. I’ve never really given much thought to the subject of gender in my professional life. It was actually during a course in university pedagogy, when I was studying medical students’ approach to surgery as a speciality, that I actually realised what was behind this issue. The reasons why female students didn’t want to choose surgery were the difficulty of combining it with a normal family life, the burden of being on call, the tough work environment etc., whilst the male students basically stated one reason: ‘I’m not interested in surgery.’ ”
What might your professorial appointment mean for other women?
“Women currently make up about 20% of the surgical profession in Sweden. A female surgeon is thus a role model for younger colleagues and students, regardless of whether she wants that role. I’m incredibly humble about the hard grind that the now somewhat older female surgeons have had to put up with during their professional careers — so I think my appointment may be a big thing for them. I’ve received many such responses.”
What is it like working in a field that istraditionally so male-dominated?
“I don’t really think much about that. I’ve always felt I’ve received great support from the men around me. At the same time the Centre of Surgery at Norrlands University Hospital has consciously sought to make surgery an attractive speciality for both women and men.”
You are researching into cancers of the intestine,pancreas and breast. Tell me a little more about your area of research.
“My research is into the tumour stroma. In many cancerous tumours the stroma constitutes up to 80% of the actual volume of the tumour. We’re studying the stroma in order to find new tumour markers that can help us make prognoses, select patients for surgery and follow them up afterwards, and decide whether relapse is to be suspected over time. My group is above all working on blood and tissue samples from patients who have undergone operations for cancer.”
What has your career been like?
“I’m originally from Finland, and I got my medical degree at the University of Oulu in 1998. I did my doctorate at the same university in 2001, my dissertation being in the field of molecular biology. Following my internship I spent two years as a postdoctoral student at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Since then I’ve tried to combine clinical work with research, both as a resident physician in surgery and following the specialist-physician examinations. In 2009 I became a docent in experimental surgery (‘experimental’ because at the time I was not yet a qualified specialist physician). It’s not always been easy, as there’s not really been any clear career path for researching clinicians — you cannot, for example, become a lecturer in a clinical subject until you’ve become a specialist in that subject. But by combining part-time (50%) grants, subsidies and posts (clinical-research funding from the Swedish Society for Medical Research and Västerbotten County Council, and through the Regional Agreement on Medical Training and Clinical Research, plusa 50% post for clinical cancer researchers from the Swedish Cancer Society) I’ve managed to get by.”
How have you celebrated?
“I took part in the inauguration at the Annual Autumn Ceremony and celebrated in conjunction with that. I’ve also celebrated in several contexts within my own unit and at the hospital. So it’s now time to roll up my sleeves and get on with my work!
