Dear Colleagues, 

I am pleased to include another issue of RFS Briefings with some timely and encouraging updates on women in science.

Elizabeth Campbell launches Laboratory of Molecular Pathogenesis.

In her new lab at Rockefeller, “my main goal is to understand the regulation of gene expression in both pathogens to gain new biological insights and find new processes and targets that can be used for drug development,” said Elizabeth Campbell. Of course, Rockefeller University is a founding member of our Council of Academic Institutions.  Read more. (Image credit: Mario Morgado) 

Please continue to share important news and opportunities with us so that we may share it with you and others who are committed to supporting the careers of exceptional women in science.

Stay safe and sound,

Karla Signature

Karla Shepard Rubinger
Executive Director
Rosalind Franklin Society
www.rosalindfranklinsociety.org

Pratima Saini: Seeing Hard Work Pay Off.

Dr. Pratima Saini, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Mohsen. She talked about her journey to becoming a scientist. “When I saw so many women around me doing amazing research, I had faith that I could do it too,” she said. Read more.

Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic Granted Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York Investigator Award to Advance Cancer Research.

Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic is one of the inaugural CZ Biohub NY Investigators awarded funding to pursue ambitious research that contributes to the overarching CZ Biohub NY mission of bioengineering immune cells for the early detection and eradication of human disease. Read more. (Image by Columbia University)

Harvard-educated Gabby Thomas balances training for Paris while working at a Texas health clinic.

“This is a message to all the younger girls who are watching, especially the young women of color,” Gabby Thomas told Olympics.com. “Just know that the world might try to put you down, but the sky is the limit for you. You can achieve anything that you want to do — so just keep going." Read more.

Pushing the Envelope for Cosmology and Astrophysics.

With the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics celebrating its 20th anniversary, Kavli Institute Director Abigail Vieregg looks forward to building on the institute’s successes. “We’re making great progress,” says Vieregg. “Our people are really pushing the envelope on instrument building for these new cosmic microwave background experiments, along with particle astrophysics projects and more.” Read more. Image: Kavli Institute Director Abigail Vieregg, left, and Kavli Foundation President Cynthia Friend, right, hold a commemorative plaque at the 20th anniversary celebration. Image credit: The Kavli Foundation.

Call for nominations: 2025 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards.
The 2025 International Awards will honor five outstanding researchers in Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science, each working in one of the following regions: Africa and the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America. Deadline: July 8, 2024. Read more.  

Europe goes to Mars: The ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover is back on track.
The Rosalind Franklin Rover would be Europe’s first rover on the Red Planet. Initially, Roscosmos was a key partner in the rover, providing the landing platform and a suite of scientific instruments. The partnership was suspended due to geopolitical tensions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In May 2024, NASA and ESA signed a partnership agreement to get the rover down to the surface. Read more.

ARPA-H announces small business funding opportunity.

The ARPA-H SBIR/STTR solicitation seeks proposals from small businesses that aim to rapidly achieve better health outcomes across patient populations, communities, disease, and health conditions. Read more. Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, recently spoke at one of our RFS events: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q7ysvijXIk. (Image: Renee Wegrzyn, Ph.D. Credit: ARPA-H)

Women Make Global Gains as Researchers, but Gaps Persist. 
Female representation among scholarly researchers has increased in the United States and across the globe over the past two decades. But when the numbers are broken down by field, career stage, and research impact, among other factors, gender disparities persist, according to a large-scale study by Elsevier, a Dutch academic publishing and global information analytics company. Read more.

Obituary: Elizabeth Harriet Fradd.

Elizabeth Harriet Fradd was a Nurse leader and influential health adviser and administrator. Born on May 12, 1949, in Worcester Park, UK, she died on May 12, 2024, in Nottingham, UK, aged 75 years. (Photo by Nottinghamshire Lieutenancy). Read more.

The 11th annual Raw Science Film Festival is open for entry.
RSFF is an annual event that brings together people across science, technology, entertainment and media from across the world to showcase best in class film and media from around the globe. The festival deadline is September 1, 2024. Read more.

Institutional Change to Support STEM Underrepresented Faculty Success: Call for Experts.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is seeking nominations for experts to participate in developing a new workshop series, Institutional Change to Support STEM Underrepresented Faculty Success. Read more.

The 2024 Roddenberry Prize will award $1 million to an early-stage, scientific or technology venture leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) for a better future. 
This year’s Roddenberry Prize is focused on AI and machine learning. As AI becomes more powerful and ubiquitous, the organization calls for its use in service of a more equitable and prosperous world in which all of us – regardless of our background – can thrive. Read more.

The Remarkable Life of Chemistry Professor and Crime Buster Mary Louisa Willard.
Lost Women of Science tells the remarkable stories of groundbreaking women who never got the full recognition they deserved – until now. Mary Louisa Willard, a chemistry professor at Pennsylvania State University starting in the late 1920s, was a colorful character. Police around the world knew her for her side hustle: using chemistry to help solve crimes. Read more.

Radical women-only hiring policy improves diversity at Dutch university.
A Dutch university’s controversial policy to close the gender gap by temporarily allowing only women to apply for certain roles appears to be paying off. Read more.

We are pleased to welcome the first members of our new Council of Corporate Leadership!


            

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