LOS ANGELES — The idea that someone would ask incoming First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to drop the 'doctor' title from her name struck a seismic chord with world-renowned scientist Dr. Lucy Jones.

Dr. Jones took to Twitter earlier this week to speak out about the contentious Wall Street Journal Op-Ed. “That guy who wrote it didn’t know what he was saying about himself,” she said via a Zoom interview with Spectrum News 1.

Dr. Jones said although she normally keeps her tweets reserved to the subjects of earthquakes and climate change, she felt compelled to share her own experience. She began her thread with:

Like #DrBiden, I learned that sometimes you need to add that "Dr.". In the 1980s, I had to dress in shorts and T-shirt to show I was a geologist. Nice clothes at Caltech meant you were a secretary.

— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) December 13, 2020

Dr. Jones said the first time she began regularly using her title was after a flurry of earthquakes in the early 1990s that thrust her and her colleagues into the spotlight.

“When we started to be on TV, men and women scientists were doing the interviews, and the men were called seismologists and the women were called the ‘earthquake ladies,’” she said.

When Dr. Jones began adding the 'doctor,' she said it was to remind people that women can also be scientists. And she noticed she was treated with more credibility when she did. The title even led to quicker appointments with legislators, she shared in a follow up tweet:

In the 2000s, I joined the CA Seismic Safety Commission. Using the Dr. meant quicker appointments with the legislators.

In the 2010s, that Dr. led to policy makers willing to listen to me and work together for change.#DrBiden, I and every other PhD deserve to use our titles.

— Dr. Lucy Jones (@DrLucyJones) December 13, 2020

“It was a huge amount of work to get that PhD and it also taught me how to be a researcher,” Dr. Jones said. “The fundamental of that PhD is that you are someone who is capable of adding to human knowledge.”

In the Op-Ed, which the WSJ has defended, author Joseph Epstein referred to Dr. Jill Biden, who has a PhD in Education in addition to two Master’s degrees, as “kiddo” and said her title sounds fraudulent. He added: “A wise man once said that no one should call himself 'Dr.' unless he has delivered a child.”  

“You get the feeling of a chip on his shoulder. The assumption that doctor means you’re an MD shows a lack of experience with the academic setting,” said Dr. Jones.

Dr. Jones took heart in the future First Lady’s response:

Together, we will build a world where the accomplishments of our daughters will be celebrated, rather than diminished.

— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) December 14, 2020

Dr. Jones, who happens to be the second 'Dr.' in her family (following in the footsteps of her grandfather, who has a PhD in theology), said she couldn’t agree more with Dr. Biden.

“I think the message for all of us is we have to have confidence in ourselves. I think I was able to do it in a previous era because my father was just so supportive and assuming I would be doing all of this,” Dr. Jones said. “We need to change the idea that science is only for a few people and they’re probably male. And we need to learn how to respect expertise.”