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Greetings!
March is Women's History Month! This year's theme is Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination: Celebrating Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Celebrate Women's History Month with AWIS by learning about a few of our member's achievements and furthering your own professional success by participating in our members-only STEMiNARs. Best Regards, Janet Koster |
| Careers | |
Contributed by Ramya Natarajan
Advice for Job Seekers from STEM Hiring Managers
If you are a job seeker in a STEM field, then checkout Chemical & Engineering News for advice on ways to increase your odds of finding employment in this tough economy. Industry leaders and recruiters at Genentech, Aegis Sciences, scientific staffing firm Proven, and ACS career advisers provide response to several common questions including: should you apply for jobs that require lower qualifications, what do multiple post-docs say to an employer, and how important is an applicant's social media presence?
STEM job search tips
How to Give Feedback to Your Boss
If an opportunity to review your supervisor presents itself, it can be a great chance to give some valuable feedback and improve your working relationship. At the same time, it can be difficult to give honest feedback if there's a fear of retaliation or being perceived as a complainer. Follow the tips in this article to ensure that your feedback conversation is both diplomatic and productive.
Constructive feedback
Not Sure Whether to Accept a New Job Opportunity?
After a long and hard job search, it can be very tempting to accept the first offer that comes along. But prudence demands that you ask the right questions and evaluate the situation carefully before making a decision. At the 2013 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting, career development expert Joanne Kamens, discussed key questions all scientists should ask of a new opportunity to find out if it's right for them.
To accept or not to accept
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| Education | |
Contributed by Rachel Britt
Academic Positions Become the "Alternative Careers"
For many newly-minted Ph.D.s, a tenure-track position in academia is the ultimate career goal. However, recent data have shown that it's increasingly difficult for new Ph.D.s to find tenure-track positions in many STEM disciplines including the biological sciences, physics and computer science. It's time for universities to revamp the training graduate students and postdocs receive in order to prepare them for a whole new job market!
Off track
Mentoring Crucial in Support of Minority Women in Science
Being a woman of color in a science graduate program presents a unique set of challenges, especially in obtaining quality mentorship. White men are 1.5 times more likely than minority women to say that their mentors respect their ideas. A change in the mentoring culture of academic departments would benefit all graduate students, and would be particularly useful in supporting and increasing participation of minority women in science.
Mentoring minority women
Student Loans More Beneficial to Women than to Men
A recent study reports that taking out student loans makes students more likely to graduate, especially if those students are women; female students are willing to accrue more debt to finish their degrees than male students. Better job prospects for men than for women may contribute to this behavior. Early in their careers, male college dropouts and graduates make similar amounts of money. In comparison, female dropouts make about $6500 less than female graduates.
Give her some credit
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| Health | |
Contributed by Jamie Smith
Women's Heart Disease Awareness Still Needs Improvement
The percentage of women who are aware that heart disease is their number one health nemesis has nearly doubled from 30 percent in 1997 to 56 percent in 2012, according to a study published in Circulation. However, awareness is still lacking among minorities and young women. Forty four percent of females aged 25-34 cited heart disease as the leading cause of death, but noted that their doctors were unlikely to discuss heart disease risks with them.
Pump up your knowledge
Flu Shots Linked to Healthy Pregnancies
A new study shows that the flu vaccine is not only safe, but also protective of a developing fetus. Typically, about 15 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. receive a flu vaccine annually. However, at the urging of health officials during the 2009 flu pandemic, vaccination rates among pregnant women increased to 45 percent. Babies whose mothers received the flu shot were 37 percent less likely to be born prematurely.
Shots for tots
Molecular Events Behind Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
New research conducted at Harvard and funded by the National Institutes of Health shows that modification of a protein involved in fetal brain development can cause greater susceptibility to alcohol. This finding could potentially facilitate the development of drugs to prevent alcohol neurotoxicity and reduce the number of preventable birth defects.
The brain on booze
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| Science and Technology | |
Contributed by Meredith Fox
Ape Ancestors Paved the Way for Alcohol Digestion
Our ape ancestors may be the key to our ability to metabolize ethanol, the alcohol found in beer, wine and other libations. In humans, ethanol is broken down by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase 4 (ADH4). It appears that around 10 million years ago, the ancestor common to gorillas, chimps and humans, evolved to became more terrestrial and ate fruits fermenting on the ground. Those individuals who could digest ethanol would survive better than those who couldn't.
Make it a double!
Large Meteor Explodes Over Russia
A meteor that was recently seen streaking through the sky over Russia was the largest recorded object to strike the earth in more than a century. Astronomer Margret Campbell-Brown at the University of Western Ontario, who studied data from two infrared stations near the impact site, calculated that the meteoroid was ~15 meters across when it entered the atmosphere, with a mass of ~40 tons. Despite its size, the object went undetected until it hit the atmosphere.
It's a bird...it's a plane...it's...
Biological Clocks Have a 'Snooze Button'
Biological clocks control essential functions ranging from sleeping patterns to cell regeneration, but sometimes sticking to these rhythms is disadvantageous. It now turns out that these clocks have an unexpected 'snooze button' which helps cells ignore the biological clock under certain circumstances, allowing them to adapt to environmental changes. Researchers showed that some species can alter the function of their biological clocks by using different 'synonyms'-stretches of DNA which code for the same amino acid-in the genetic code. These findings improve our understanding of evolution at the molecular level, and have potential implications for gene therapy.
Five more minutes please!
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| Work Life Satisfaction | |
Contributed by Becky Mercer
Nine Tips to Improve Your Networking
Do you think you know all there is about networking? If not, then read on for advice on making connections that can help you in your career and life. Suggestions include setting goals for your involvement in networking events, sharing information with your network that can help them, reaching out of your comfort zone, and common courtesies such as being generous and friendly.
Proactive networking
Take the Day Off...Forever?
In this New York Times op-ed, Ross Douthat shares a view of a world in 21st century America, in which more and more individuals leave the workforce and have more time for leisure. While it may seem relaxing, the workplace provides us with not only a sense of purpose and contribution to society, but also a place to meet friends and spark romance.
Imagine your life without work
Reasons You Stay in a Job You Don't Like.
Is it worth staying in your current career just because you have the degree? Daniel Gulati writes in the Harvard Business Review that it may be helpful to think about the value and enjoyment you get out of your career instead of focusing on the salary or what your parents/spouse/society expect from you. Thinking creatively about what you truly want to do with your training and your life can free you from the pressure of the daily grind.
Career cost
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Opportunities
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The 2013 Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics will be held September 4 to 7 in Omaha, Nebraska. The organizers of ASB encourage the submission of abstracts on the full and broad spectrum of biomechanics-related research including but not limited to gait, posture and balance, rehabilitation engineering, ergonomics, orthopedic mechanics, cellular and molecular mechanics, comparative biomechanics, motor control, sports, and teaching.
The Presidential Innovation Fellows (PIF) program pairs top innovators from the private sector, non-profits, and academia with top innovators in government to collaborate during focused 6-12 month "tours of duty" to develop solutions that can save lives, save taxpayer money, and fuel job creation.
AWIS Chapter Mini-Grants
AWIS Chapter Mini-Grants are available to support chapter initiatives focused on increasing membership recruitment and retention. Applications are due at least 30 days in advance of the date of the event. Applications will be considered on a quarterly basis and are due no later than March 31, June 30, September 30, or
December 31.
Travel Award Program for Early Career Investigators
Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology will offer a limited number of travel awards to early career investigators at the Assistant Professor or equivalent industry scientist level. The application process is open for all meetings between now and February 28, 2013. However, the awards will be made upon review, on a first come basis.
2013 Alma Dea Morani, M.D. Renaissance Woman Award
The Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine is currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Alma Dea Morani, M.D. Renaissance Woman Award. This award will honor an outstanding woman physician or scientist in North America who has advanced the practice and understanding of medicine in our lifetime. Deadline for electronic submission of nominations is April 1, 2013.
2012-13 AWIS Star Chapter Award
The AWIS Star Chapter Award honors those chapters who have accomplished many of the key objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan. The award encourages chapters to perform specific activities designed to ensure that women in STEM fields are able to achieve their full potential.
Opportunity for Scientists to Collaborate with European Colleagues
To further scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and the United States, an Implementing Arrangement was signed on July 13, 2012 to enable U.S.-based
scientists and engineers with NSF-funded CAREER awards and Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to pursue research collaboration with European colleagues supported through EU-funded European
Research Council (ERC) grants.
ADVANCE Program Solicitation
Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE) is accepting proposals for projects that develop systemic approaches to increase the representation and advancement of women in academic STEM careers, thereby contributing to the development of a more diverse science and engineering workforce.
Marie Curie Fellowship
Have you ever wanted to do research in Europe? Apply for a Marie Curie Fellowship. The goal of the Marie Curie Fellowship is to strengthen the human potential in research and technology by stimulating people to enter into the profession of research and attracting researchers from the entire world to Europe. To apply, you must have either a doctoral degree or at least 4 years' full-time equivalent research experience, after obtaining a degree permitting you to embark on a doctorate.
Small Business Postdoctoral Research Diversity Fellowship
The Small Business Postdoctoral Research Diversity Fellowship program aims to encourage creative and highly-trained recipients of doctoral degrees in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematical disciplines to engage in hands-on research projects in their areas of expertise at the kind of small innovative businesses that historically have fueled the nation's economic regime. Each research fellow will receive a stipend of at least $75,000 plus health insurance benefits.
NSF's Career-Life Balance (CLB) Initiative
Scientists now have the opportunity to submit supplemental funding requests to support additional personnel (e.g., research technicians or equivalent). This will help sustain research when the Principal Investigator is on family leave. In FY 2012, up to 3 months of salary support may be requested (for a maximum of $12,000 in salary compensation) by CAREER awardees. |
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| Member Profile | |
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Spotlight on Funders
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The Elsevier Foundation, TWAS, and OWSD Honor Early Career Women Scientists in Developing Countries at the Annual AAAS Meeting
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| Volunteer Spotlight |
Masha Fridkis-Hareli, PhD is the associate scientific director at Taligen Therapeutics. Masha is the past President of the Massachusetts AWIS chapter and volunteers at the national level as a member of the chapters committee.
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| Featured Jobs | |
Vaccine Research Center Director NIH Emory University |
| Support AWIS | | |
Help other women in science! Donate to AWIS for its programs and awards.
Your tax-deductible donation to AWIS supports the wide-ranging advocacy activities of the National Office and the Executive Board.
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| International Year of Statistics | |
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