How Women At Scripps Research In Jupiter Are Changing Science

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Content sponsored by Scripps Research in Jupiter

 

Science needs women. 

Innovation flourishes in a climate of diversity, and that’s the environment at Scripps Research in Jupiter, where women number 39 out of the 72 students attending the institute’s internationally recognized graduate program. 

While only one-third of the global science workforce is women, in Florida, women number more than half of the students attending the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences.

To build that momentum, the institute’s Jupiter campus is launching an important initiative: Women in Science Education (WISE). The goal is to raise a $500,000 match through a series of charity events and thereby create a $1 million WISE educational endowment.

“This initiative is going to launch a new generation of scientific pioneers,” said Douglas Bingham, executive vice president of Florida operations at Scripps Research. “We hope like-minded supporters of science will join us in empowering talented women.”

The women faculty at Scripps Research is changing science and medicine.

Microbiologist Hyeryun Choe, Ph.D., asked why the zika virus causes birth defects when a nearly identical virus, dengue, does not. She found the answer and is now working on a vaccine to protect unborn babies. 

Biochemist Laura Bohn, Ph.D., asked whether the pain-relieving power of opioids could be separated from the devastating side effects of overdose and addiction. She’s already succeeded at blocking the overdose risk in her lab at Scripps Research. Addiction risk is her next target.

Chemist Kate Carroll, Ph.D., asked why pancreatic cancer is one of the few cancer types that doesn’t respond to a powerful class of therapies called kinase inhibitors. She recently discovered the reason, and armed with that knowledge, is now developing methods to make those drugs effective for thousands of cancer patients.

Scripps Research plans to introduce its WISE initiative at a Dec. 3 kick-off event at the Scripps Research Jupiter campus. Complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be enjoyed by attendees while they listen to graduate program associate dean Christoph Rader, Ph.D., share his thoughts on the school’s influence.

In the months that follow, the WISE Committee will hold a number of philanthropic events, including private dinners, a symposium aligned with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Feb. 11, 2020 and a first-of-its-kind, family-friendly “science stroll” throughout the Scripps Research campus. 

To learn more about WISE or how you can create your own graduate student endowment, please contact Scripps Research Philanthropy department at 561-228-2016.

 

Photos courtesy of Scripps Research in Jupiter

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