United States
ELC and Nature Research Announce Winners of Second Annual Awards for Inspiring and Innovating Science
The Awards for Innovating Science and Inspiring Science celebrate and support the achievements of leading women in science globally
Company Feature, 29 Oct 2019
As a company founded by a pioneering woman, The Estée Lauder Companies is committed to supporting and promoting the next generation of outstanding women in science. To this end, we are proud to continue our partnership with Nature Research to spotlight groundbreaking work in STEM with awards that provide recognition for women leading in science, and honour those who have encouraged girls and young women to engage with STEM subjects around the world. To celebrate and honour these achievements, the Company and Nature Research hosted an awards ceremony at ELC’s London headquarters on 15 October.
Award winners with some of ELC’s R&D employees; Image: Ian Alderman
This year’s Award for Inspiring Science was presented to Jean Fan, post-doctoral Fellow, Harvard University. She received her PhD in Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics at Harvard. Her research centres around developing computational methods for identifying and characterising heterogeneity at the single cell level, particularly in the context of cancer, using multi-omic approaches. She is the founder of CuSTEMized, a non-profit organisation which encourages young girls to see themselves in STEM.
The Award for Innovating Science was given to The STEM Belle, a non-profit organisation focused on levelling female representation in STEM. Based in Nigeria with work in Ghana and Pakistan, The STEM Belle has impacted over 1,000 girls from six different schools across the three countries. Doreen Anene, founder of The STEM Belle, is a Schlumberger Foundation Fellow, a PhD student at the University of Nottingham, and currently a visiting scholar at the Poultry Research Foundation in Sydney, Australia.
Jean Fan accepted the Award for Inspiring Science; Image: Ian Alderman
The winners were chosen out of a pool of more than 80 applications, with applicants based in, or with active projects in, five continents. As part of our ongoing commitment to mentoring women at every stage of their careers, each winner will receive access to a network of leaders and scientists from The Estée Lauder Companies and Nature Research. Lisa Napolione, Senior Vice President of Global Research and Development, and Dr. Nadine Pernodet, Vice President, Global Research & Development – Skin Biology and Bioactives, will continue to proudly represent the Company as mentors in this programme and will share their knowledge and experiences in applied research, advanced technologies and product design. They also serve on the judging panels for the awards.
Each honouree will also receive a grant of $20,000 to use on initiatives related to their work and up to $5,200 of event funding for the Award for Innovating Science or up to $5,200 of APC funding for the Award for Inspiring Science to promote their work.
Doreen Anene accepted the Award for Innovating Science on behalf of The STEM Belle; Image: Ian Alderman
“We believe so strongly in the power of mentoring and the need for inclusivity to drive innovation, so we are honoured to have partnered with Nature Research for a second year to showcase those making a real difference for gender equality in STEM,” said Lisa Napolione. “As these awards have spotlighted so beautifully, people across the world are full of the potential to do amazing research, but in so many cases, in order to activate it, we must commit to more inclusive teams, labs and STEM organisations to tap into that potential. These awards support that mission and our esteemed winners are gleaming examples of this commitment, making an indelible difference for so many others.”
We continually challenge ourselves to create the most beloved beauty brands, products and experiences for consumers around the world. Having strong female talent throughout the business is critical to the Company’s success. Of the 1,900 scientists, engineers and technical professionals that make up our Global R&D workforce, over 60% are women, a testament to the Company’s commitment to seeking and fostering diverse female scientific talent.
To learn more about this year’s award winners and our partnership with Nature Research, click here.
