Rosemary Roberto is the Laboratory Safety Supervisor in Environmental Health and Safety at Rowan University, where she helps create safe research environments across science and engineering disciplines. Through laboratory inspections, researcher training, and hazard assessments, she supports the work happening behind scientific discovery every day. Rosemary believes safety isn’t just about knowing the science—it’s about communicating it clearly, building systems people will follow, and creating environments where researchers can thrive. Alongside her work in laboratory safety, she studies equity in STEM and advocates for more inclusive research and learning environments.

Carolyn James is a computer science student at Colorado School of Mines researching how artificial intelligence can improve secure communications for the space industry. Through the FIRST Research Program, she is exploring ways AI can reduce communication delays between Earth and satellites while helping automate tasks that support NASA’s Artemis missions. Driven by a passion for cybersecurity and space exploration, Carolyn hopes to help build the secure communication systems that will support the next generation of space missions.

Adaeze Osakwe is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at the University of Georgia, where she develops polymer-based materials and pharmaceutical formulations to improve drug delivery and material performance. Her research combines polymer chemistry with predictive design strategies to create more efficient, sustainable materials for healthcare and industry. Driven by a curiosity about how materials shape the world around us, she is passionate about developing innovations that benefit both people and the environment.

Sol Rosito is a Research Fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she applies mathematics, statistics, and artificial intelligence to cancer research. After earning degrees in mathematics and astrophysics, she brought her quantitative expertise to the study of cancer genetics, risk prediction, and early detection. Through her work developing statistical models, simulations, and AI-driven tools, she helps researchers better understand cancer risk and make more informed decisions about prevention, screening, and patient care.

For the AWIS Summer Of Science this week, they’re spotlighting Angela Matope, an actuarial analyst working in the insurance industry. Driven by a curiosity about how data can be used to solve real-world problems, Angela built a career helping organizations better understand risk, prepare for uncertainty, and make informed decisions about the future. Read her spotlight to learn how she combined a passion for mathematics and problem-solving into a career helping others plan for what comes next.

Meena Narayanan, PhD, is a Principal Scientist in CMC/Process Analytics at Genentech a member of the Roche Group. Her AWIS membership has given her opportunities to meet like minded professionals, and give back to the scientific community.

Dr. Green developed a novel cancer-killing technology, Laser-Activated NanoTherapy (LANT), that is of high clinical relevance in the field of oncology. LANT directly addresses the urgent yet unmet global need for more effective treatment options for millions of people with difficult-to-treat cancers. LANT is designed as a minimally invasive, curative treatment for solid tumors that induces site-specific (not cell type-specific) cellular death and tumor regression precisely at the site of laser activation. The peer-reviewed, preclinical in vivo LANT data showed complete tumor regression with clear tumor margins and healed skin in just 15 days after a single, 10-minute treatment without surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or observed side effects. Because its mechanism of action is based on physics instead of biology, LANT is a platform therapy designed to have clinical indications for a variety of difficult-to-treat solid tumors, such as brain, pancreatic, breast, prostate, and head and neck cancers. Dr. Green founded the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation, a cancer nonprofit, to keep the technology she developed affordable for all. The Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation is on a mission to change the way cancer is treated and reduce cancer patient suffering by providing a treatment that is accessible, affordable, and effective. Limited by funding, not technological advancements, the Ora Lee Foundation is ready to move LANT beyond the laboratory and into humans with tax-deductible donations. When you support the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation, your donations will help ensure Dr. Green’s research comes to life by helping to fund human clinical trials, taking this tech from the lab to the living.

Neuroscientist Suzanne Corkin was born 89 years ago today. Taking over the HM case from Brenda Milner, she spent decades probing the boundaries of what the hippocampus does and does not do in memory consolidation, with fascinating results. Here is her story.

Originally from New Zealand, Niranjana Raghunathan has been working across the globe in Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) for the past 13 years. She has learned that keeping her team motivated leads to success.

In a year filled with challenges for women in science, AWIS supported members with grants, scholarships, learning opportunities, advocacy initiatives, a new career center, and more. Read all about it in the AWIS Annual Report.