February 10, 2017
Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Over the past 15 years, the global community has made concerted efforts to inspire and engage women and girls in science. According to a study conducted in 14 countries, the probability of a female student graduating with a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and Doctor’s degree in a science-related field are 18%, 8% and 2% respectively, while the percentages of male students are 37%, 18% and 6%.
The UN General Assembly recognizes that full and equal access to and participation in science, technology, and innovation is imperative for empowering women and girls of all ages. As a response, one year ago the General Assembly declared February 11th as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
This weekend we celebrate the Day in recognition of the critical role women and girls play in science and technology communities—including education, training, and research activities at all levels. To observe International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are highlighting three members of our Graduate Certificate program. These three students are each making meaningful contributions to their respective scientific fields, and, they are also women.
Hannah Frizzell is a third year PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering and is currently a graduate research fellow working on mucosal immunoengineering, vaccines, drug delivery, and how these relate to women’s and children’s health on a global scale. Hannah is the Vice President of Funding at UW’s Bioengineers without Borders, which develops medical devices for resource-limited areas. She mentors a team focused on a low-cost device for diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women. Hannah is also a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a Roche/Achievement Awards for College Scientists (ARCS) scholar. As she progresses in her field, she hopes to apply both her technical background and experience from the Global WACh program to create and integrate medical technologies into communities to improve their accessibility and thus ultimate effectiveness in improving health globally.
Ke Pan is an MPH student in the Department of Global Health, having received her BA in Public Health with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and Masters Degree in Medicine from Third Military Medical University in China. Prior to coming to UW, she worked as a resident in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology for three years and conducted research about the quality of women’s life after surgery for Pelvic Organ Prolapse. She also conducted a research regarding the prevalence of hypertension and obesity in adolescents. Ke Pan is deeply interested in improving global health disparities of women, adolescents and children through education, awareness, and access to healthcare.
Molly Feder is an MPH student in the Department of Epidemiology with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health. She received her BA in International Affairs concentrating in Global Health from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Prior to attending UW, Molly worked as a Government Relations Associate and Database Administrator at the Council for Responsible Nutrition in Washington, DC where she advocated for enhanced FDA oversight of the vitamin and supplement industry. As an MPH student, Molly is a Maternal and Child Health Trainee and is interested in research pertaining to family planning and reproductive health.
We’re proud of the interdisciplinary commitment these three students have made to advance health care globally within the fields of women, adolescent, and child health. Please click here to learn about each of our fantastic certificate students and the impact they are making in their fields.
On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we also hear from Chief Information Technology Officer of the United Nations, Atefah “Atti” Riazi, who urges all girls to aspire to be ‘geeks.’ Click here to read.