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Combining both fiction and science Eileen Pollack, novelist and teacher at the University of Michigan, read from her novel which tells the story of Jane, a scientist who might be the carrier of a disease that is incurable.

Pollock’s reading of her book, “A Perfect Life,” at the WSU museum of art yesterday, was followed by a short Q&A session.

“A Perfect Life” is a fictional piece based on the life of Nancy Wexler. Wexler is well-known for her involvement in tracing the source of Huntington’s disease in human genes. After watching her mother die of this disease, Wexler decided that because there was a chance that she would inherit it, she would not marry or have children. The book follows Jane, a scientist looking for the cure to Valentine’s Chorea, or Huntington’s disease, making the same tough decisions Wexler did.

“There is science and blood, but there is also love,” Pollack said, explaining that unlike Wexler’s own life, “A Perfect Life” contains a romantic element.

Debbie Lee, Visiting Authors Series co-director, said she invited Pollack because of her book “The Only Woman in the Room: Why Science Is Still a Boys’ Club,” which Pollack discussed on Tuesday in the Honors Hall Lounge.

 “She can talk about her experience as a woman in science,” Lee said.

“The Only Woman in the Room” is based on Pollack’s own experience as a woman in science and answers the question of why there is a lack of women in scientific fields. Lee also invited Pollack to speak to her creative writing class because of Pollack’s background in science and her experience as a creative writer.

Larry Hufford, creator of Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (WiSTEM) at WSU and director of biological science, hopes to bridge the gap between science and writing through WiSTEM.

“We’re trying to create a community and (provide) mentoring for women that work in the sciences,” Hufford said.

Pollack was the first featured author in the Visiting Authors Series this semester. Her reading was co-sponsored by WiSTEM, the School of Biological Sciences, the English department, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Provost and the Common Reading Program.