Women’s History Month: Moving Forward Together

By: France-Elvie Banda
Thursday, March 27, 2025
This year’s Women’s History Month centers on the importance of educating and inspiring generations. Advancements made by women researchers and inventors, despite systemic and institutional barriers, have laid the foundation for future generations to pursue careers in research. These pioneers symbolize more than just needed representation; they are changemakers who have contributed to significant advancements in science.

Despite its official start in March of 1980, following President Jimmy Carter’s presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week, celebrations of women’s contributions to society can be traced back to the first International Women’s Day which was held in 1911. This year’s theme, Moving Forward Together, encompasses both the historic progress made and the persisting barriers women still face in their pursuit for equity.

Below are generations of women scientists who are pioneers and changemakers in the biomedical and biological research community.

• Helen Octavia Dickens, PhD (1909 – 2001): An American surgeon who was the first Black-American woman admitted to the American College of Surgeons.
• Rosalind Franklin, PhD (1920 - 1958): A British chemist who is best known for her revolutionary work in discovering the double helix structure of DNA.
• Flossie Wong-Staal, PhD (1947 – 2020): A Chinese-born virologist who was the first scientists to clone HIV and create a map of its genes. Her work laid the foundation for the development of the first HIV tests.
• Jennifer Doudna, PhD (1964): An American biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate, who co-discovered CRISPR-Cas9 along with French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier.
• Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD (1986): An American viral immunologist who played a key role in the development of Moderna, a COVID-19 vaccine.