BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: Women in STEM

You don’t know Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett!? Read This!!

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On March 10, 2021

In Student Post

Overview

Who is Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett? Nature Medicine published an article on October 19th, 2020 titled “The duty to mentor, be visible and represent” which answers this question. Dr. Corbett is a research fellow for the Coronavirus vaccines and Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center (VRC). An additional article published by the American Society for Microbiology titled “Kizzmekia S. Corbett, Ph.D.” outlines her vast career achievements.

Personal Background

Kizzmekia Corbett is a Black woman who grew up in North Carolina, where she attended grade school. Dr. Corbett is a first generation college graduate who was unfamiliar with careers in science most of her young life, until she met a mentor who inspired her to dive into a scientific career. She was sixteen years old attending public school when she discovered her passion for science. As her parents encouraged her to do during her high school years, Dr. Corbett had a summer internship with American Chemical Society’s Project SEED program, where she researched at a lab of the University of North Carolina. As mentioned above, Corbett came out of this program with a mentor who changed the path of her life. PhD candidate Albert Russel, a Black man, ignited a passion and sense of possibility in Corbett to achieve her goals in STEM, regardless of her gender or race. She also learned the importance of mentorship in success and understanding in the field of science. Short after, she attended the University of Maryland where she graduated, in 2008, with Bachelor of science degree in Biological Studies, and a secondary major in Sociology. She also graduated as a Meyerhoff Scholar and an NIH undergraduate scholar. Later in 2014, she completed her Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. From this mentorship, she now feels a duty to inspire the youth of aspiring scientists. She is vigorously passionate about inclusivity in the field, and supporting those from underrepresented or underprivileged backgrounds. She is fulfilling her wish by mentoring students in the National Institutes of Health HiStep 2.0 program. She believes that exploring interest in science at a young age is extremely important.

“As I trek through my scientific career, making novel discoveries, climbing what seems to be a never-ending ladder, I am reminded of my other duties…to mentor…to be visible…to represent.” –Kizzmekia Corbet

Career Accomplishments/ Advancements in COVID-19

She is currently a research fellow for the Coronavirus Vaccines and Immunopathogenesis Team at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Vaccine Research Center. As an immunologist, she and her team have been committed to developing coronavirus vaccines. Dr. Corbett’s team partnered with Moderna, Inc. to develop the mRNA-1273 vaccine. The FDA, Food and Drug Administration, approved the clinical trial of the mRNA-1273 vaccine. Dr. Corbett and her team have completed extensive research and have made several important findings regarding coronavirus vaccines and antibodies. The Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine has since– January–  been approved by the FDA and distributed to the public!

Where to next? She is currently in Phase 1 of a clinical trial to develop a universal influenza vaccine. Another one of her goals is to become an independent principal investigator.

It is clear that Kizzmekia S. Corbett is a brilliant, accomplished individual who only has more goals to achieve within the science community! Let me know what you think of her story in the comment, and if this story sparks and additional interest in you!

Diving Into the Life of Rene Francolini

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On March 7, 2021

In Student Post

Rene Francolini identifies as a proud bisexual, cisgendered female (she/her), who specializes in computational biology. Computational Biology combines her two greatest passions: marine biology and computer science.

Francolini discovered her love for computer science and marine biology in highschool, but was then introduced to the combination of those two topics by one of her highschool teachers. The rest is history. Francolini furthered her education in science and got her undergraduate and accelerated master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University for Computational Biology. When she came right out of college, she worked as an oyster farmer for a few years before working at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). During the last two years spent there. Francolini spent her time in the environmental toxicology lab, collecting Environmental DNA (eDNA) from deep parts of the ocean, and the molecular ecology lab taking part in a larger project known as the Ocean Twilight Zone Project.

The Ocean Twilight Zone Project focuses on gathering research from a part of the ocean called the mesopelagic zone. It’s often referred to as the twilight zone, and is home to the greatest amount of fish in the sea. Often the fish we will find on our dinner plates like tuna and swordfish are coming from there. The twilight zone also takes part in removing some of the carbon in the atmosphere, which regulates our climate. In today’s world, we need to be careful in protecting it because it benefits not only the fish, but us too. This research will help advance ocean science; it will also give government officials insight on this zone, so hopefully they will try their best to protect it.

Francolini is currently getting her Marine Science PhD, while also taking part in the Maine-eDNA project as a Graduate Research Assistant. She’s specifically working on the Gulf of Maine’s kelp forests, and “how we anticipate climate change to alter the landscape and biodiversity of these vital ecosystems” (500 queer scientists). This project combines fieldwork, collecting samples, as well as computational and molecular work. This project showcases how versatile Francolini is as a biologist.

Franciolini loves that being a scientist means that you can share your passion with others, which even leads some to discover a love and interest in STEM and the environment around us. She is proud to be a part of the openly LGBTQ+ minority in STEM, as representation in this field encourages more young scientists that will be coming from our generation to outwardly be who they are without fear of not being accepted and/or respected.

The Unsung Heroes of our Scientific World

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On March 7, 2021

In Student Post

As I scrolled through my Instagram feed, I stumbled upon a moment in time that left me awe-struck: the unsung heroes of our scientific world. In this post, I learned about the contributions of African American women who have undoubtedly shaped our world yet have not received the proper acknowledgement they deserve. Why have their influential fingerprints been overlooked? In spite of the gender and racial oppression these brave women have painstakingly endured, their stellar contributions continue to stand the test of time. 

For starters, I would like to address a crucial challenge that our world continues to grapple with- the fight against gender discrimination. The transformative world of science predominantly teaches us about the achievements of white men and their everlasting impact and revolutionary discoveries, while we rarely hear about the similar accolades of women, specifically women of color. Their triumphant stories and novel discoveries are left out of science textbooks and medical journals; they are left only with an occasional appearance in an obscure footnote. As a result, their historical accolades are essentially being written by white men idolizing white men. Devoid of fame and public recognition, women rarely dominate the storyline, rendering an outdated tale where white men set out to make scientific history as they strut their self proclaimed efforts for all to witness. Sadly, behind every leap and discovery lies a multitude of budding female scientists who do their part to break the code. 

In spite of gender and racial oppression that African American female scientists have painstakingly endured, their stellar contributions continue to stand the test of time. However, over the ensuing years, the work of only a select few unsung heroes has finally been highlighted. This recurring theme of gender inequality needs to change as we reveal the hidden truth to the innovative discoveries that we have all come to know and appreciate. For starters, Professor Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize as a result of her sustainable development campaign that planted over 30 million trees. In the world of applied mathematics, Dr. Gladys West analyzed satellite data and created a detailed model of the Earth’s Surface that was a key contribution to GPS technology. Katherine Johnson was a mathematician at NASA who calculated and guided the flight path of the first American spacecraft reaching the moon. Moreover, African American women have continuously impacted the medical field as Alice Augusta Ball invented the “Ball Method”: the first effective treatment for Leprosy. Dr. Marie Maynard Daly was the first black woman in the US to earn a PhD in Chemistry, who used her progressive scientific knowledge to uncover the missing link between cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. With these impressive achievements in hand, it is high time that we recognize how these powerful women collectively personify the oppressed and serve as a painful reminder that we need to speak up for this silenced group. 

Today, we must actively recognize the herculean efforts set forth by this marginalized community, who have fearlessly paved the way for a new generation of scientific warriors to bravely follow suit. Today, empowered women dominate high powered industries across all walks of life. Not only will our newfound remembrance offer these fierce and brilliant women the notable recognition they deserve, but it will allow us to use their personal accounts as treasured lessons that inspire young women to join in. As an aspiring woman in STEM myself, these women have truly paved a path for my future endeavors. With these impressive scientific leaders at the forefront, we must call our meaningful conversation to action and finally shed light on the groundbreaking work of these noble women.

I have linked additional resources that dive more in-depth about each one of these remarkable individuals’ achievements so that you too can learn about their everlasting mark on the scientific world.

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