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The Estée Lauder Companies and Nature Research Announce Winners of Inspiring Women in Science Awards

The 2021 Inspiring Women in Science Awards recognize leading women in science globally

Company Feature

The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) is proud to again partner with Nature Research to showcase exceptional female talent and remarkable work in STEM as the importance of innovation and research continues to gain the world’s attention. Now in its fourth year, the Nature Research Awards for Inspiring Women in Science, in partnership with ELC, support gender equity and showcase outstanding work in STEM.

Nature research awards photo of a woman

These awards have two categories —Science Outreach and Scientific Achievement— to celebrate and support the achievements of women in science, and those who work to encourage girls and young women to engage with STEM subjects and to stay in STEM careers around the world. The Science Outreach Category award is presented for initiatives that support girls or young women to engage with, enjoy and study STEM subjects, or to increase the retention of women in STEM careers. The Scientific Achievement Category award recognizes early-career women researchers who have made an exceptional demonstrable contribution to scientific discovery and may have faced significant challenges – personal or professional.

The Inspiring Women in Science Award in the Science Outreach category was awarded to the “Parent in Science Movement.” Based in Brazil, the organization works to raise awareness on the barriers faced by academic mothers. By generating primary data on these barriers and the impact of motherhood in the scientists’ careers, the Parent in Science Movement promotes affirmative actions and inclusive public policies to ensure women’s access, permanence, and progression in STEM.

 

This year’s Inspiring Women in Science Award in the Scientific Achievement category was presented to biomedical entrepreneur and researcher, Kiana Aran, Ph.D. She serves as Associate Professor of Medical Diagnostics and Therapeutics at Keck Graduate Institute, is a member of the Claremont Colleges, and is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Cardea Bio. Her field of research focuses on designing novel biosensing platforms and using 2D nanomaterials for early disease diagnosis, as well as utilizing biology as tech elements for a variety of biosensing applications. Aside from her primary professional roles as a professor and entrepreneur, she also considers herself a dedicated mentor.

Lisa Napolione, Senior Vice President, Global Research and Development

Lisa Napolione addresses the winners of the Nature Research Inspiring Women in Science Awards

This year’s honorees will receive a grant of $40,000 to spend on initiatives related to their award category, along with coverage on nature.com, an invitation to present their work and initiatives to scientists at ELC, and mentorship opportunities through the company.

 

The winners were chosen out of a pool of over 120 outstanding applicants for each category, with applicants based in, or with active projects in, over 30 countries. In fact, the work of the shortlisted nominees in the Scientific Achievement category was so exemplary, the judging panel granted honorable mentions for the first time in the awards’ history. Simone Badal, Ph.D., and Markita Landry, Ph.D., were recognized as runners up in the category, and Megan Lickley, Ph.D., received a special commendation in the category.

 

Each year, award nominees receive access to an exclusive mentoring and networking community web site, and Lisa Napolione, Senior Vice President, Global Research and Development at ELC continued to proudly represent the company on the mentoring site. Of this year’s nominees, she noted, “Throughout this awards program, [they] have invested in creating a strong community. I have seen and felt this community in [their] interactions on the mentoring site. This has been the most active site I’ve ever experienced since the start of the awards, and I am genuinely impressed.”

 

In line with its core value that diverse talent drives innovation, ELC looks forward to continuing its partnership with Nature Research to amplify the voices and work of outstanding women in STEM and organizations that promote girls and young women to engage in STEM subjects. Over 60% of the 1,900 scientists, engineers and technical professionals that are a part of the Global R&D organization at ELC are women, and ELC is proud to continue its work to help ensure that women, both within ELC and beyond, globally are supported, mentored, recognized, and celebrated for their work and achievements. Read more about the diverse teams of ELC scientists in Nature’s latest “Inside View” interview with Uma Santhanam, Executive Director, Research and Development Testing/Clinical at ELC.

 

Learn more about this year’s award winners and ELC’s partnership with Nature Research.

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