Balancing Family with Graduate Studies
The goal of balancing a personal life with graduate school studies can often seem unattainable. Try telling that to Arthur and Penelope Ruiz. The tireless couple has made a science out of juggling their marriage and raising two children, all while pursuing their Ph.D. degrees at Einstein.
The Ruiz family: Julian, Arthur, Jacob and Penelope
“The amazing thing about raising children while being a grad student is appreciating how many hours there are in a day and realizing how much you can still get done,” said Penelope.
The couple met when they began their master's degree studies at NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science in fall 2007. Arthur, who has defended his thesis and now works in science communications, recalled, “We both performed poorly on the first quiz and that was the start of a beautiful relationship.”
They formed a study group with a couple of other students, beginning a friendship forged in studies about DNA and cell cycling. “That spring semester, we became partners in our molecular biology lab course,” said Penelope.
Whether it was a friendly competition to get an "A+" on a lab report from a “famously hard-to-please professor,” working out at the gym together or decompressing over drinks at a local bar, the transition from friendship to dating was a bit indeterminate – it just happened.
“We knew there was an attraction and chemistry from the start,” Arthur noted. “But when I decided to stay in New York for my Ph.D., we realized it was serious.”
Connecting Via Disparate Paths
Julian in flight on the campus swing set, with an assist from his dadThat they would meet at NYU may have been pre-ordained, but their pursuit of science began on opposite coasts – she at Rutgers University and then Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and he at the University of California in San Diego followed by several years in biotech.
“I went back to school to pursue my interests in science further,” said Penelope. “I enjoy the satisfaction of doing experiments and getting data – expected or otherwise.”
Arthur shared the same desire to work in science. He said, “I always knew I wanted to do something in biology, and when I had a chance to move across the country for grad school, I took it.”
A Shared Affinity for Einstein
Penelope and Arthur were officially “a couple” by the time he entered Einstein in fall 2009. Although Arthur initially moved to the Bronx on his own, by his second year they became domestic partners and moved into an Einstein studio together.
Recalling what drew him to the College of Medicine, Arthur said, “Einstein had a reputation as one of the top neuroscience schools in the country, and my mentor at NYU urged me to apply. It ended up being a great decision.”
After completing his laboratory rotations, he combined his interest in neuroscience with immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Vinayaka Prasad. As he worked to complete his thesis, Arthur also explored science writing, serving as associate editor for the Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine online blog and as a writing intern for the Philip and Rita Rosen Department of Communications and Public Affairs.
Soon after moving in with Arthur, Penelope decided to get her Ph.D. at Einstein, too. For her, it is the supportive environment for students at the College of Medicine that stands out in her mind.
She recalled, “When I applied to Einstein, one of my interviewers handed me a list of the labs he thought would interest me and the principal investigators he thought would work well with me. The care put into guiding each student, the friendliness of faculty and the reputation for collaboration at the school are all what made me want to be here.”
Juggling Family Life
Jacob with mom, also in the swing of thingsArthur and Penelope were married in the summer of 2011, and later showed up at the Einstein Housing Office with a sonogram of their first son, Julian, which allowed them to move into a two-bedroom apartment. As a new Einstein graduate student, Penelope took her classes and performed her initial graduate school rotations while pregnant.
While managing the responsibilities of grad school can be difficult by itself, things truly changed when Julian was born in 2012. Arthur recalled, “The work-life balance was a challenge, but it helped that we were both five minutes from our labs. We would trade Julian back and forth on weekends so we could keep experiments going while still having family fun.”
Penelope agreed. “Neither new parents nor grad students are on a 9 to 5 schedule, but having the ability to set up experiments and time points on a flexible schedule is helpful. Still, it amounted to many late nights and weekends in order to accommodate two workloads and a family life.”
Both acknowledged that Einstein’s family-friendly atmosphere and surrounding neighborhood make it the ideal place to raise Julian and his little brother, Jacob, who was born in 2015. “We appreciate the convenience of being able to take walks to the store or playground together,” said Penelope.
Finding Their Career Paths
When Art completed his Ph.D. this past summer, he decided to forgo an academic path to pursue a career in medical communications.
“I realized that I enjoyed medical writing, and I’m using my scientific background to create papers and presentations that explain emerging advances in medical therapeutics. It’s rewarding work.”
Meanwhile, Penelope is working to complete her Ph.D. in the laboratory of Dr. Matthew Gamble. She would then like to pursue a postdoc. “It’s more academic work, but I love being elbow-deep at the lab bench.”
Both parents seem confident about the work ahead, believing that having each other will help them overcome any future obstacles.
Arthur cannot imagine doing it with anyone else. “Call our meeting a cosmic coincidence or whatever, but things just clicked and here we are. We’re both deeply appreciative of the life, family and careers that we’ve been able to build together at Einstein.”
Posted on: Friday, February 17, 2017