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 

House science committee chair leaves bipartisan legacy as she bids farewell. 

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX) Credit: Wikipedia.

Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D–TX) recently announced she would not seek a 16th 2-year term next fall, making her the 16th House Democrat to announce their departure in this election cycle. “Johnson is the first Black woman to chair the committee. Over the past 3 years she has teamed with the panel’s top Republican, Representative Frank Lucas (OK), to stake out a centrist position on a host of challenges facing the U.S. scientific community, from China’s growing scientific prowess to research misconduct,” writes Jeffrey Mervis. Read more.

The gene-synthesis revolution.
Researchers can now design and mass-produce genetic material — a technique that helped build the mRNA vaccines. What could it give us next? These fabulous female founders at Twist Bioscience and Ginkgo Bioworks were speakers at the RFS meeting last winter! Read more. Watch Emily Leproust’s RFS presentation here and Reshma Shetty’s presentation here.

There’s a lot of financial aid available to women pursuing STEM careers.
“Having access to scholarships can help to alleviate some of the burden that women face today, and it is vital to them receiving an education that will get them the same seat at a table as their fellow male classmates,” said Sasha Ramani, associate director of corporate strategy at MPOWER Financing, which offers scholarships to women pursuing STEM careers. Read more.

If academia better supported women scientists like me, I may have opted to stay.
Avika Dixit, director of clinical development at Moderna Therapeutics, encourages institutions to look closely at the challenges early-career researchers, especially scientist mothers, face and develop policies that give them a reason to stay. “We cannot afford to give up on closing the gender gap. The next medical discovery may depend on it,” she says. Read more.

Stereotypes about girls dissuade many from careers in computer science.
In a peer-reviewed study, researchers found that stereotypes about girls’ interest in science, technology, engineering and math – or lack thereof – are fairly widespread among young people today. They also found that stereotypes actually have an effect on girls’ motivation and sense of belonging in computer science and engineering. Read more.

Zena Stein, 99, dies; researcher championed women’s health.
Dr. Zena Stein, a South African-born epidemiologist whose influential work encompassed the effects of famine on children, the health of entire communities afflicted by poverty and the impact of the AIDS crisis on women in Africa, died on Nov. 7 at her home in Coatesville, Pa. She was 99. Read more.

Outcry as men win outsize share of Australian medical-research funding.
According to an analysis, men secure a greater share of medical-research funding than women in Australia’s largest grant-award program, despite applying at similar rates. The issue was first flagged by researchers in 2019; however, this time, nearly 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for the introduction of gender quotas, Holly Else reports. Read more.

MIT Future Founders Initiative announces prize competition to promote female entrepreneurs in biotech.

Despite increasing representation at MIT, female science and engineering faculty found biotech startups at a disproportionately low rate compared with their male colleagues, according to research led by the initiative’s founders, MIT Professor Sangeeta Bhatia, MIT Professor and President Emerita Susan Hockfield, and MIT Amgen Professor of Biology Emerita Nancy Hopkins. Read more.

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