Dear Colleagues, 

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

Equity and representation in science matter more than ever, and the Rosalind Franklin Society continues its mission to recognize, foster, and advance the critical contributions of women and underrepresented minorities in science. Our annual year-end conference highlights the innovators and changemakers with unique experiences and leadership.  

Join us for this indispensable, two-day complimentary virtual summit (November 30 and December 1) showcasing dynamic leaders. The program includes an impressive line-up of prestigious award winners in science, as well as a panel to highlight the unique path of scientists navigating the often-tumultuous waters of PhD to CEO. You will also want to hear first-hand accounts from major new appointments in the federal government and tune in to the presentation that shows a fascinating look back at the Lost Women of Science.

We know you will want to hear these presentations from prestigious scholars, authors, award winners, government leaders from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the Food and Drug Administration, and one scientist's very personal story of insight and recovery from a massive stroke that profoundly shaped her life and career.

Join us to continue the celebration of Dr. Franklin's life, work, and symbolic power, by recognizing outstanding women in science, cultivating more significant opportunities, and inspiring new generations of women.  

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

Dr. Isabelle Aubert elected into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Dr. Isabelle Aubert, senior scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute, is one of the 71 new Fellows elected into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) this Fall. Dr. Aubert is exploring brain health and repair using drug, cell and gene therapies. This collaborative work led her to discover that, in addition to serve as a non-invasive approach to deliver therapeutics to the brain, the modulation of the blood-brain barrier with transcranial focused ultrasound can promote the regenerative capacity of the brain. Read more.

Geophysicist Leigh Royden looks at Earth from the top down.

Leigh Royden, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Geology and Geophysics, combines geology and geophysics to study the Earth’s crust, how it changes when tectonic plates collide, and how that activity is connected to processes deep in the mantle. A member of MIT’s faculty since 1984, Royden’s journey in the Earth sciences has taken her to geologically interesting sites around the world. Read more. Photo: Scott Eisen.

New NAS awards honor science communication in “post-truth world”
Earlier this month, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced the recipients of the inaugural Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication. The Scientist spoke to recognition awardee and paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill about the prize, which she won for her Twitter presence, lay-level writing, and Warm Regards podcast. Read more.

Five L’Oréal fellows awarded funding to conduct research and mentor the next generation of women in STEM.

Sandya Subramanian, Sarah Burnett, Marina LaForgia, Sikoya Ashburn and Margot Wohl are the recipients of the 2022 L'Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship. | L'Oréal USA
A Nov. 2 event hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine celebrated the contributions of women in science and addressed the need to dismantle systemic barriers to women’s leadership in STEM. Alongside several more senior women scientists, the five fellows also shared their stories at “Breaking Glass: Advancing Women Leaders in Science.” Read more.

Dr. Nina Schor named NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research.

In this role, Dr. Nina Schor will lead the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) and facilitate coordination and collaboration among the 24 NIH institutes and centers that are a part of NIH’s research community. She also will spearhead efforts to train the next generation of biomedical and behavioral researchers at NIH, as well as foster a diverse and inclusive culture across the IRP. Read more.

Inclusive STEM learning environments: Six institutions committed to progress.
The data from the 2019 Interagency Working Group on Inclusion in STEM report show that only one out of every 10 federal STEM workers is from a racial or ethnic excluded group. On November 1, 2022, HHMI is making the first grants in its Driving Change initiative, awarding $2.5 million each to six universities: Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the Ohio State University, the University at Albany, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Montana, and University of Virginia. Read more.

Saying ‘no’ in science isn’t enough:  When women refuse requests to do unrewarded tasks, another female colleague often gets asked instead. 
Studies show that women, regardless of occupation, take on the bulk of non-promotable tasks (NPTs). These tasks can be found throughout any institution — examples include helping other people with their work, serving on governance committees, organizing events, mentoring and even resolving office conflicts. Improving the distribution of NPTs is an organizational problem: employers and team leaders must lead the change. Read more.

This 37-year-old NASA engineer is designing a spacesuit for women on the side: ‘It’s not just cool, it’s necessary’

Sabrina Thompson. Credit: Magdalena Petrova

“Spacesuits have never been designed with women in mind,” Sabrina Thompson points out, despite the fact that women have been instrumental in designing space suits for astronauts. Sabrina Thompson is an aerospace engineer for NASA as well as the CEO and founder of the streetwear brand Girl in Space Club. Read more. 

Marianna Limas, Social Media Manager
Nilda Rivera, Partnership and Events Manager

Dear Colleagues, 

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

Our annual year-end meeting is almost here. 

We are in the process of taping an impressive agenda which will showcase amazing leaders who you may not have heard from! We will again present an impressive panel of prestigious Award winners in science, and a panel to highlight the unique path of scientists From PhD to CEO. As in the past, you will also want to hear first-hand from major new appointments in the Federal government and the White House. We will also present a fascinating look back at Lost Women of Science.

These productions will be shared through broadcast on November 30th and December 1st, 12:00a.m. - 3:00p.m. (EST).

A link for registration will be posted soon. We know you will want to hear these presentations from prestigious scholars, authors, award winners, government leaders from NCI, ARPA-H, and the FDA. and a scientist's very personal story of insight and recovery.

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

M.I.T. Names a Duke Provost as Its New President.

M.I.T. announced a new president, Sally Kornbluth, a cell biologist and provost at Duke University. She will be the second female president of the university, and will join a long list of women in its top leadership ranks. The provost, chancellor, dean of science and chair of the M.I.T. Corporation, the school’s governing body, are all women. Read more. (Image: Jared Lazarus, Duke University, edited by MIT News)

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth confirms Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams as new president.

Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams was the first Black woman to serve as Deputy Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps., then the first Black woman to rise to the level of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health. “Dr. Sylvia Trent-Adams is an extraordinarily accomplished academic health care leader,” said Dr. Michael R. Williams, chancellor of the UNT System. Read more.

She’s made 1,750 Wikipedia bios for female scientists who haven’t gotten their due.

Jess Wade, 33, a British physicist, spends her spare time writing Wikipedia biographies for women and minority scientists. “Wikipedia is a really powerful way to give credit to people who, for a long time, have been written out of history,” she said. “Not only do we not have enough women in science, but we aren’t doing enough to celebrate the ones we have.” Read more. (Image: Jess Wade)

The Vilcek Foundation announces the recipients of the 2023 Vilcek Foundation Prizes.

Biyu J. He receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science for her leadership in the field of cognitive neuroscience, and for her groundbreaking discoveries on the biological bases of perceptual cognition and subjective experience. Read more.

Women researchers are cited less than men. Here’s why—and what can be done about it.
Women’s scientific contributions are often undervalued and cited less often than those of their male counterparts, including in neuroscience, astronomy, medicine—and, according to two new studies, physics. How can researchers and institutions address gender inequality in academia? Read more.

Obstetrics “giant” Beryl Benacerraf dies at 73.
Beryl Benacerraf, best known for discovering that congenital abnormalities such as Down syndrome could be diagnosed through prenatal ultrasound, died October 1 of late-stage cancer. She was a renowned radiologist and professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Read more.

On the lookout for viruses that could leap from animals into humans.
Sara Sawyer, a virologist at the BioFrontiers Institute of the University of Colorado, Boulder, spoke to Nature about what a virus must do to make the leap between species, and describes a worrying discovery her laboratory has made regarding a future threat. Read more.

A journey of joy and uncertainty in physics.
This article is part of a series of essays written by Black physicists and co-published with Physics Today as part of #BlackInPhysics week 2022, an event dedicated to celebrating Black physicists and their contributions to the scientific community. Read more. 

Marianna Limas, Social Media Manager
Nilda Rivera, Partnership and Events Manager

Dear Colleagues, 

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

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

Stanford’s Carolyn Bertozzi wins Nobel in chemistry.

Stanford chemist Carolyn Bertozzi was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for her development of bioorthogonal reactions, which allow scientists to explore cells and track biological processes without disrupting the normal chemistry of the cell. “In pioneering the field of bioorthogonal chemistry, Carolyn invented a new way of studying biomolecular processes, one that has helped scientists around the world gain deeper understanding of chemical reactions in living systems. Her work has had remarkable real-world impact, unleashing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to treat disease. Carolyn is so deserving of this honor, and all of us at Stanford are tremendously proud to call her one of our own,” said Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Read more. (Image: Nobel Prize on Twitter)

5 women who should have won a Nobel Prize.
“Two decades ago it would be rare that I would find a woman, for example, to designate as a citation laureate, but as we move forward in time, we find there are more women… in the top ranks of researchers,” said David Pendlebury, a senior analyst at Clarivate, ahead of the 2022 Nobel Prize announcement. There’s no shortage of worthy female candidates to be the next science laureates. Here are five female scientists and the life-changing discoveries they have made. Read more.

Overlooked no more: Maria Orosa, inventor of banana ketchup.
Maria Orosa, a food scientist and nationalist, sought to make the Philippines less dependent on imported food. Banana ketchup was one result. First mass-produced in 1942, banana ketchup has become so popular that Heinz, arguably the king of tomato ketchup, now makes its own version. Heinz introduced it in 2019, saying it was doing so “in honor of Maria Orosa” Read more.

Monica Bertagnolli begins work as 16th director of the National Cancer Institute.

Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D., started as the 16th director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She is the first woman to hold the position of NCI director. Dr. Bertagnolli succeeds Norman E. Sharpless, M.D., who stepped down as director in April 2022. Douglas R. Lowy, M.D., has been NCI’s acting director since April 30, 2022. Read more. 

Dr. Audrey Evans, cancer specialist who gave Families a home, dies at 97.
Dr. Audrey E. Evans, a pediatric oncologist in Philadelphia who, seeing that her out-of-town patients’ families sometimes struggled to find affordable accommodations when their children needed extended care helped create the first Ronald McDonald House, a concept that has blossomed into a worldwide network, died last week at her home in Philadelphia. She was 97. Read more.

World’s largest science prize for discovering a new mechanism of cellular organization.
Anthony Hyman, the managing director of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), and Clifford Brangwynne, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, have been honored with one of the three 2023 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences. Anthony Hyman was a speaker at RFS. Following his wife’s gruesome murder at a conference, his presentation addressed the challenges for women and the responsibility of leaders in the field to address this. Read more.

Feinstein Institutes’ Betty Diamond receives Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Award.
The award, conferred by Association of American Medical Colleges, recognizes outstanding individual and organizational contributions to advancing women leaders in academic medicine and science. Read more.

Research!America to recognize Dr. Tabak and other leaders in medical and health research.
Three distinguished women in science and medicine among those honored by Research!America. The award honors individuals who show outstanding commitment to sustaining the nation’s world-class leadership in medical and health research. Read more.

ASU professor to study new genome editing tools with NIH Innovator Award.

Assistant Professor Audrey Lapinaite from ASU's School of Molecular Sciences. Photo by Mary Zhu

Assistant Professor Audrey Lapinaite from Arizona State University’s School of Molecular Sciences and the Biodesign Institute’s ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center has been awarded a prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award. The award specifically “supports exceptionally creative early-career investigators who propose innovative, high-impact projects,” targeting investigators within 10 years of completing their doctoral degree or postdoctoral training. Read more.

UAB neuroscientist earns new innovator award from NIH.
University of Alabama at Birmingham neuroscientist Summer Thyme, Ph.D., is a recipient of the Director’s New Innovator award from the National Institutes of Health. The award is part of the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, supported by the Common Fund, which has bestowed 103 new research grants to support highly innovative scientists who propose visionary and broadly impactful, meritorious behavioral and biomedical research projects. Read more.

Can you #FindThatLizard? One scientist is tapping the tools of social media to transform her field.

Dear Colleagues, 

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

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