In this Viewpoint, we hear from a cross section of women, across multiple research fields, discussing their science and the process of setting up a lab as an independent researcher. As well as being able to celebrate the positives of becoming an independent researcher, we would also like to use this platform to discuss the unique challenges they face as women scientists in their respective scientific environments.

In this issue of JEM, D.L. Barber discusses the study by Winchell and Nyquist et al. showing that CD8αα⁺ lymphocytes have a major role in the innate suppression of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth in macaques’ lungs.

Jen Gommerman is a Canada Research Chair in Tissue Specific Immunity, and a professor and newly appointed chair for the Department of Immunology at the University of Toronto. Her lab is interested in the underlying mechanisms of immune dysregulation in autoimmune diseases such as MS, mucosal immunology, and the role of TNF family members in immune cell biology.