An important part of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in science is helping to ensure that life events and situations don’t disproportionately affect an individual’s ability to build a successful research career. Unfortunately, a promising scientist’s career path may at times be interrupted by life events such as pregnancy, childbirth, adoption, serious illness, or family caregiving responsibilities. NIH understands that providing support for researchers during critical life events advances a more diverse and creative workforce.The good news is that the NIH Research Continuity and Retention Supplements program is available to help early-career investigators during these crucial life junctures. Two Program Director/Principal Investigator categories are eligible for the continuity and retention supplements program: Mentored career development (K) awardees and First-time recipients of research project grants. The supplemental funding provides flexible support within the scope of the parent project. Funds may be used for additional personnel, computational services, supplies and equipment, or other resources needed to sustain the investigator’s research.

Nora Sun is on a mission to boost girls' access to STEM studies and careers. When Nora Sun was a child, her grandfather created bedtime stories for her about what they called "two galaxy-hopping astronauts." The stories about White Cap and Green Cap - inspired by two Lego figures she played with, one with a white cap, the other a green cap - led Sun to dream of being an astronaut when she grew up. "I relinquished the dream after I discovered that being an astronaut required intense physical training. I am very unathletic," Sun, now 17 and a high school senior, said. But her childhood love for all things science stuck. She lives part-time in Jacksonville with her mother, Yujie Zhao, but attends high school in Chicago where she lives with grandfather Baozheng Zhaoshe and has already made a name for herself as an aspiring research scientist.

Around the world and across history, innovative women have imagined, developed, tested, and perfected their creations, and yet most of us would be hard pressed to name even a single woman inventor. In fact, women inventors are behind many of the products and technologies used every day! From life rafts to disposable diapers to rocket fuel, women have invented amazing things - but they're also responsible for some of the things we use for day to day life. In fact, if you use GPS on your cell phone, turn on windshield wipers when you drive in the rain, or eat a chocolate chip cookie, you can thank the woman behind them! In honor of the remarkable women whose breakthroughs have advanced technology and the ease of our day to day lives, A Mighty Girl is sharing the stories of twenty ingenious women whose inventions have changed the world. Whether they were scribbling designs two centuries ago or are still working today, these clever creators deserve to have their stories told. They've also included a few stories of modern-day Mighty Girls who have taken up the challenge of becoming the inventors of today - and tomorrow.

Meet Dr. Deblina Sarkar, an award-winning innovator. She is an assistant at MIT and fuses ingeneering, applied physics and biology to develop disruptive technologies for nanoelectronic devices and create new paradigms for life-machine symbiosis.

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Archita Khaire. Read her story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light! Archita is a founder of AIBytes4You, a nonprofit organization that has developed educational programs to provide students the resources, knowledge and opportunities in rapidly emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL). AIBytes4You focuses on educating women of color and minority groups. Archita has a global team of 25 people who have delivered AI/ML courses to 1,500+ students.

Have you learned about "Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory?" Author Trinity Richardson's WITI article "Cultural Dimensions - Another Layer of Culture," breaks down the five dimensions to cultures. According to Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions Theory, there are five dimensions to cultures. These dimensions all work together to create unique cultures, and while you can look at them separately, when identified as a whole there is a clearer picture of how a culture may operate. The dimensions themselves are individualism vs collectivism, long-term orientation, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity vs femininity. Individualist cultures focus on the concerns and achievements of individuals, while collectivist cultures are concerned with unity and selflessness. In an individualist society, people are expected to have their own beliefs and wants and build a life for themselves based on them. Collectivist cultures focus on a group's needs over an individual's needs. Interconnectedness is valued over independence. Collectivist cultures lean towards a long-term orientation, which values future rewards over present satisfaction.

To help younger women see professional women scientists as role models, Dr. Rachel Roper decided that any time a reporter requested a microbiologist or immunologist for an interview, she would do it. She has now done over 200 interviews. Dr. Rachel Roper is a professor at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine and a DEI advocate. Here's her story.

So much great advice in this article by microbiologist Dr. Tess Eidem! She shares her journey from not having many science role models as a kid, to academia, to now running her own company. Dr. Tess Eidem earned her PhD discovering potential new antibiotics against bacterial pathogens, owned and operated a fermented foods company with her husband, Derek Staebell, and got her start in the cannabis industry by working in manufacturing and quality management. At her company Rogue Micro LLC, she is motivated to help cultivators overcome microbial challenges by sharing her knowledge and experience in science, food, agriculture, advocacy, and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Annette S. Lee is an astrophysicist, artist, and director of Native Skywatchers. She identifies as mixed-race Lakota. Her tribe is of the Lakota from the Wanbli Luta (Red Eagle) family, and her other Indigenous community is Ojibwe. In 2007, Dr. Lee founded Native Skywatchers as a grassroots effort “to revitalize, regrow, and remember our Indigenous astronomy and connection to the stars.” Dr. Lee is also a professor of astronomy and physics at St. Cloud State University, an honorary/adjunct professor at the University of Southern Queensland in the Centre for Astrophysics, an associate adjunct professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, and a professional visual artist. Dr. Lee holds a PhD in physics and astronomy, and an MFA from Yale School of Art with a focus on painting.

Dr. Kat Milligan-Myhre is a Native Alaskan microbiologist. With over 20 years of experience, Dr. Milligan-Myhre began her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There she earned a bachelor’s in medical microbiology and immunology and a doctorate in microbiology. She made history by becoming the first Alaskan Native to earn a PhD in microbiology. Dr. Milligan-Myhre continues to make academic research more equitable for minorities and women, especially Alaskan Native youth. As an assistant professor in biological sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), she created the UAA STEM Day and UAA STEM EXPO.