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NIEHS To Celebrate Women in Science with March Events

By Eddy Ball
March 2008

Hrynkow said that the NIEHS International Women’s Day is an opportunity to recognize great science as well as challenges overcome.
Hrynkow said that the NIEHS International Women’s Day is an opportunity to recognize great science as well as challenges overcome. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)
Vallant is active in the Diversity Council and chair of the Spirit Lecture Committee.
Vallant is active in the Diversity Council and chair of the Spirit Lecture Committee. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)
Dixon is an advisor to the Office Scientific Director representing the interests of women scientists at NIEHS.
Dixon is an advisor to the Office Scientific Director representing the interests of women scientists at NIEHS. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)
Panelist Kadiiska laughed as she described her circuitous route from Bulgaria to Research Triangle Park.
Panelist Kadiiska laughed as she described her circuitous route from Bulgaria to Research Triangle Park. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)
Attending high school and college in Virginia during the siege of Sarajevo, Panelist Yang was unable to contact her family for long stretches of time.
Attending high school and college in Virginia during the siege of Sarajevo, Panelist Yang was unable to contact her family for long stretches of time. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)
March 3 FES Lecturer Devra Davis
March 3 FES Lecturer Devra Davis (Photo courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute)
Panelist Kinyamu was intrigued by Kadiiska’s account of why she left her position in pediatrics to pursue a degree in toxicology.
Panelist Kinyamu was intrigued by Kadiiska’s account of why she left her position in pediatrics to pursue a degree in toxicology. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)
Panelist Li’s group at NIEHS is trying to unravel the secrets of aging.
Panelist Li’s group at NIEHS is trying to unravel the secrets of aging. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)

As part of its observance of Women’s History Month, NIEHS plans a series of talks featuring women scientists during March. Events will include the seventh annual Spirit Lecture, jointly sponsored by the NIEHS Frontiers of Environmental Sciences (FES) Lecture Series, three additional FES Lectures by women scientists, talks by and a celebration of International Women’s Day featuring four foreign-born women scientists who work in labs at NIEHS.

There will also be a presentation by the director of the Recognition of the Achievements of Women In Science, Medicine, and Engineering (RAISE) Project, an effort to increase the status of professional women, a program of the Society for Women’s Health Research. Exit NIEHS Website (http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/site/PageServer)

The events are part of NIEHS’ strategic effort to consider gender issues, one of the priorities of Acting Director Samuel Wilson, M.D. Associate Director Sharon Hrynkow, Ph.D., led the development of this program, working closely with NIEHS counterparts Molly Vallant, biologist and Diversity Council member, and Associate Director Christopher Portier, Ph.D. Many others, including Veterinary Medical Officer Darlene Dixon, D.V.M., Executive Assistant to the Acting Director Angie Sanders and the NIEHS Spirit Lecture Committee contributed to the enterprise.

The NIEHS Office of the Director, NIEHS Diversity Council, and FES lecture series are sponsors of this series. The Foundation for NIH, the United Nations Foundation and the Society for Women’s Health Research provided support for networking receptions held in conjunction with several of the events.

Events include:

March 3, 2:00 — 3:00 p.m. in Rodbell Auditorium: FES Lecture by Devra L. Davis, Ph.D., on “The Need to Revitalize Toxicology: Lessons from the Secret History of the War on Cancer” Davis is the director of the Center for Environmental Oncology and professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (UPMC). The talk is hosted by Wilson.

March 7, 9:00 — 10:00 a.m., in Rodbell Auditorium: Seventh annual Spirit Lecture, co-sponsored by the FES Lecture Series, by Lisa Alvarez-Cohen, Ph.D, on "Application of Omics-Based Tools and Microarrays to Optimize Bioremediation." Alvarez-Cohen holds the Fred and Claire Sauer Chair in Environmental Engineering and serves as Chair of the Engineering Faculty at the University of California at Berkeley. The lecture is hosted by Portier.

March 10, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., in Rodbell Auditorium: “RAISE-ing the Status of Women in Science,” a presentation by RAISE Project Director Stephanie Pincus, M.D., with a discussion led by Florence Haseltine, M.D., Ph.D., director, Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This event is hosted by Hrynkow.

March 10, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., in Rodbell Auditorium: International Women’s Day, a panel discussion by four foreign-born women scientists at NIEHS moderated by Dixon and Vallant: Laboratory of Pharmacology and Chemistry Staff Scientist Maria Kadiiska, M.D., Ph.D.; Laboratory of Molecular Carcinogenesis Staff Scientist Harriet Kinyamu, Ph.D.; Mammalian Aging Group Leader Xiaoling Li, Ph.D.; and Laboratory of Respiratory Biology Staff Scientist Ivana Yang, Ph.D. Hosted by Hrynkow.

March 14, 9:00 — 10:00 a.m., in Rodbell Auditorium: FES Lecture on “Multiple Hit Models of Neurotoxicity: Clarifying the Contribution of Neurotoxicants to Human Diseases and Disorders” by Deborah A. Cory-Slechta, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Hosted by Portier.

March 28, 9:00 — 10:00 a.m., in Rodbell Auditorium: FES Lecture on "Environmental Science and Social Responsibility" by JoAnn Burkholder, Ph.D. Burkholder is a professor of Aquatic Ecology and Toxic Dinoflagellates at the Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology, North Carolina State University. The lecture host is David Resnik, J.D., Ph.D.

Lisa Alverez-Cohen will give the Spirit Lecture as part of the FES Lecture Series.
Lisa Alverez-Cohen will give the Spirit Lecture as part of the FES Lecture Series. (Photo courtesy of the University of California Berkeley)
Pincus, above, and her fellow director Haseltine are nationally known for their tireless advocacy for the recognition of women’s achievements in science.
Pincus, above, and her fellow director Haseltine are nationally known for their tireless advocacy for the recognition of women’s achievements in science. (Photo courtesy of RAISE)
Haseltine is a center director at NICHD and a founding board member of the Society for Women’s Health Research.
Haseltine is a center director at NICHD and a founding board member of the Society for Women’s Health Research. (Photo courtesy of RAISE)
March 14 FES Lecturer Deborah Cory-Slechta
March 14 FES Lecturer Deborah Cory-Slechta (Photo courtesy of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry)
March 28 FES Lecturer JoAnn Burkholder (Photo courtesy of North Carolina State University) closes out an event-packed Women’s History Month.
March 28 FES Lecturer JoAnn Burkholder closes out an event-packed Women’s History Month. (Photo courtesy of North Carolina State University)


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