Growing up in a single-parent household with limited access to nutritious food, a young Dr. Britton faced the challenges of a diet heavily reliant on processed and unhealthy options. However, her college experience inspired her to explore the impact of dietary choices, leading her to a career in the dietary supplement industry.
Role models and mentors also shaped her academic and professional path. She credited her mentors for inspiring her to pursue a career in chemistry, overcoming self-limiting beliefs about her background and finances.
"When I look back on the pivotal moments that I had that helped to bring me here, I think it was really because I had people looking out for me," Dr. Britton said. "I had people who I admired and then people who lifted me up in the form of role models and mentors.
"So looking back to how I made the decision to pursue chemistry, I never had a moment where I thought I can't do this because women don't, women aren't chemists. I had female chemistry teachers, so that really from the beginning I was like, oh yeah, I can become a chemist—she did it too. Then my graduate advisor, Dr. Nadja Cech, an incredible and inspiring woman, I never once thought I can't do this because women don't do this. I had people that I looked up to and that made me pursue it without question.
"I feel like the biggest barrier for me that I experienced was the stories that I told myself about, well, you come from a poor background, you can't afford to go to college. You can't afford to go to grad school. You don't have as diverse of a resume because you didn't play sports. You didn't get to do volunteer opportunities. You worked, right? And I think it's just interesting to reflect on—that having people that you can see yourself in really, in a way, almost opened the door in your own mind, or at least for me, that I'm capable.”
Outside of work, Dr. Britton has acquired an unexpected and wide array of random but handy skills, fueling her passion for self-reliance. As she puts it, “growing up in a community and in a family where we didn't really have much, you kind of learn to be scrappy and to be self-sufficient.”
