All Entries in the "STEM Fields" Category
Three American-Based Women Professors Receive 2025 Suffrage Science Awards
The Suffrage Science Award is an international prize presented to women scientists who are pioneers in their field. This year’s cohort of 12 awardees includes Danielle Julie Carrier of the University of Tennessee, Priyamvada Natarajan of Yale University, and Thuc-Quyen Nguyen of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Promotes Two Women to Endowed Chairs
Nikki Edge and Susan Emmett have been promoted to new endowed chairs in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Caltech’s Pamela Bjorkman Named the 2025 Wolf Prize Laureate in Medicine
The Wolf Prize is presented annually by the Wolf Foundation to exceptional individuals in various scientific and artistic fields. Dr. Bjorkman, longtime professor of biological engineering at Caltech, is the only woman professor in this year’s cohort of Wolf Prize Laureates.
The Gender Gap in STEM Majors is Shrinking at Top Universities and Growing at Other Institutions
Over the past two decades, there has been an increase in the number of women majoring in physics, engineering, and computer science at highly selective college and universities. However, the gender gap in students studying these historically male-dominated fields has grown significantly at less selective institutions.
Women Represent Less Than a Quarter of the Global Cybersecurity Workforce
Currently, there is a severe shortfall in the number of professionals working in cybersecurity – a field where women are significantly underrepresented. By advancing women’s participation in the field, scholars at Duke University hope to mitigate this shortfall, ultimately leading to a stronger global cybersecurity workforce.
Sarah Ruiz Honored for Early-Career Contributions to Health Education
The Society for Public Health Education has presented its 2025 M. Elaine Aud Horizon Award to Sarah Ruiz, assistant professor at New Mexico State University, for her contributions to the public health profession and education.
Boni Elewski Receives Gold Medal Award from the American Academy of Dermatology
Dr. Elewski, chair of the department of dermatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is an international leader in fungal and psoriasis research and dermatological clinical trials.
Anna Balazs Receives International Recognition for Materials Science and Soft Matter Research
Johannas Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany has presented its 2025 Gutenberg Research Award to Anna Balazs, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.
Study Highlights the Benefits of Receiving Perinatal Care Through the Indian Health Service for Native Women
The Indian Health Service is a federal agency dedicated to providing healthcare to American Indians and Alaska Natives. When pregnant and postpartum Native women have access to the federal program, they are significantly more likely to receive high-quality maternal care than those without access.
Salem College Creates Pathway for Students to Earn an Accelerated Nursing Degree
In an effort to strengthen the North Carolina and broader healthcare workforce, Salem College has partnered with Winston-Salem State University to create a pipeline for students to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing at WSSU.
Franklin Institute Recognizes Katharine Suding for Transformative Contributions to Restoration Ecology
A distinguished profesor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado Boulder, Dr. Suding is a plant community ecologist who studies ecosystem landscape and population biology.
Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education
Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
University of Nebraska Launches Online Resource Platform for Women in Agriculture
The Nebraska Women in Agriculture program at the University of Nebraska was created to provide unbiased support to agricultural women throughout the state. The program’s latest initiative, Agri-Essentials, is an online resource platform featuring learning and networking opportunities.
Michigan State University’s Teresa Woodruff Honored by Society for Women’s Health Research
Dr. Woodruff has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to women’s health research. She founded the field of oncofertility in 2006, sparking research into the reproductive options of cancer patients and cancer survivors.
Two Women Scholars at American Universities Recognized for Achievements in Biomedical Technology
The award winners are Kiana Aran of the University of California, San Diego and Amanda Randles of Duke University in North Carolina. Both women were recognized for developing breakthrough biomedical technologies.
Lise Alschuler Will Be the First Woman President of Sonoran University of Health Sciences
“I am thrilled to lead Sonoran University into its next exciting chapter.,” said Dr. Alschuler. “Together, we will shape the future of health sciences education rooted in the healing power of nature.”
Childhood Exposure to Trauma Linked to Heart Disease in Black Women
While both Black men and women study participants reported similar experiences with childhood trauma, the association between past trauma and heart complications was only found among Black women.
Women Physicians Are Significantly More Likely to Die by Suicide Than Other Women
According to a new study led by doctors at the University of California, San Diego, women physicians are 53 percent more likely to die by suicide than women who are not physicians.
Dusa McDuff Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Association has recognized Barnard College’s Dusa McDuff for her lifelong contributions to the field of symplectic geometry and topology and her mentorship of other women in mathematics.
Stanford’s Fei-Fei Li Wins Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
Among a cohort of seven recipients, Dr. Li was the only woman to receive the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. She is a leading expert in machine learning whose contributions have contributed to the modern understanding of artificial intelligence.
Study Finds Low-Quality Diets Are Pervasive Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women
The majority of pregnant and postpartum women receive low ratings on the Health Eating Index, a diet quality score based on federal guidelines for health eating habits.
Naomi Halas Awarded the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry
A University Professor at Rice University, Naomi Halas was honored for her creation and development of nanoshells, which are used in many biomedical and chemical applications.
Leah Stokes Recognized for Outstanding Climate Science Communication
ClimateOne has honored Leah Stokes, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, for her outstanding scientific contributions and efforts to communicate climate change research to the public.
Study Examines Women’s Underrepresentation Among Practicing Plastic Surgeons
Women represent just 18 percent of all practicing plastic surgeons in the United States. A new study has identified several potential barriers to entry that may be the cause of women’s underrepresentation in the field.
Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education
Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
Priyamvada Natarajan Honored for Career Contributions to Black Hole and Dark Matter Research
Dr. Natarajan, professor of astronomy and physics at Yale University, is known for her extensive research on the formation of black holes and the use of gravitational lensing to map dark matter.
Evelina Fedorenko Receives National Award for Outstanding Research on the Brain’s Language Network
Dr. Fedorenko, associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, investigates how people understand and produce language through the use of brain imaging and computational modeling.
Hospitals Can Reduce Their Rate of C-Section Births by Adequately Staffing Their Team of Labor and Delivery Nurses
When a hospital’s labor and delivery unit has a nurse staff that aligns with standards set by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses, they experience lower rates of births via c-section.
University of Central Florida Launches Women’s Health Residency Program for Physical Therapists
In partnership with Orlando Health, clinicians at the University of Central Florida have established a physical therapy residency program to prepare physical therapists to treat a wide range of conditions relating to women’s reproductive health.
Study Highlights the Preferential Promotion of White Men in Academic Medicine
In an analysis of more than 673,000 medical school graduates, a new study has found White men receive more promotions in academic medicine than women, even though Asian, Black, and White women are more likely to receive entry-level medical school appointments.
Study Finds Girls Believe Women Scientists Are More Knowledgeable Than Male Scientists
Earlier studies have found that both boys and girls were more likely to believe men were better scientists than women. However, a new study from the University of Louisville has found girls are now more likely to think women are better than men at STEM.
Three Women Scientists Awarded Vilcek Foundation Prizes in Biomedical Sciences
The Vilcek Foundation aims to raise awareness of immigrant contributions to the United States. This year, three women scholars at American universities have been honored for their outstanding cancer research contributions.
Women Faculty Are More Likely to Pursue Entrepreneurial Projects That Address Societal Challenges
Scholars at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have found women faculty are more interested in pursuing entrepreneurship when its primary purpose is framed as addressing societal issues rather than starting a business venture.
Svetlana Mojsov Receives International Award for Research Leading to Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity Treatments
Nearly 30 years after she was left off the patent of her discovery of GLP-1, Dr. Mojsov has been honored for her work in synthesizing the hormone, which has led to the development of drugs that treat obesity-related complications.
Sara Brownell Recognized for Outstanding Research on Undergraduate STEM Education
Dr. Brownell currently serves as a President’s Professor in the School of Life Sciences and founding director of the Research for Inclusive STEM Education Center at Arizona State University, where she researches inclusivity in undergraduate STEM environments.
