Laboratories are inherently hazardous environments, but what does this mean when you’re expecting? Working in a laboratory while pregnant can raise a range of questions and concerns. Labs typically have robust safety procedures and risk assessments in place, designed to protect researchers – yet when it comes to being pregnant, many chemists discover there is a lack of clear, accessible guidance, with seemingly simple queries left unanswered.
Part of the challenge is that every pregnancy is different, and appropriate precautions can vary significantly depending on the individual and their work. There are also important gaps in our understanding of which chemical exposures may pose risks during pregnancy. As a result, responses can be inconsistent, ranging from carefully managed adjustments to the complete suspension of laboratory work. The information that does exist is often fragmented, making it difficult for pregnant chemists and their supervisors to make informed decisions.
In this webinar, we will be joined by two experts who are working to bring together the available evidence and create practical resources for pregnant chemists and the people who manage and support them. Drawing on both their professional expertise and personal experiences of balancing pregnancy with careers in chemistry, they will discuss the challenges pregnant chemists face and explore how laboratories, institutions and colleagues can provide better support.
The webinar will include an extended Q&A session, giving attendees the opportunity to share their experiences, ask questions and contribute to this important conversation.
Anna Slater
Anna Slater received her PhD in supramolecular chemistry from the University of Nottingham, UK in 2011. Following postdoctoral positions at Nottingham and the University of Liverpool she took up a Royal Society-EPSRC Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship in 2016 and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in 2021. She was promoted to professor of chemistry in 2022. Anna developed an interest in flow chemistry during her postdoc positions; exploiting flow processes for enhanced control of chemistry is now a central theme of her work, for which she was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Harrison-Meldola Memorial Prize in 2023. Alongside the Slater group’s work across supramolecular chemistry, chemical engineering, organic materials and automation, Anna has worked on inclusion and accessibility in Stem with WISC (Women and Inclusion in Supramolecular Chemistry), is a disabled and neurodivergent academic, and has two children aged 8 and 11.
Mary Kate Mitchell Lane
Mary Kate Mitchell Lane is a current postdoctoral researcher in civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA, USA. She holds a doctoral degree from Yale University in chemical and environmental engineering. Mary Kate’s research involves green chemistry, circularity and sustainability, waste valorisation, and biorefining. Mary Kate is a mother of three, having her first two children during her PhD program while navigating work in a chemical laboratory. Mary Kate just had her third child in March 2026 and recently returned from maternity leave to her postdoctoral research position at MIT. She is passionate about supporting pregnant people and mothers in chemistry, publishing a literature review in Chemical Research in Toxicology titled ‘What to expect when expecting in lab: a review of unique risks and resources for pregnant researchers in the chemical laboratory.’
