Memorial Sloan kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced that Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI) researchers Regina Bou Puerto and Mijin Kim, PhD, have been named 2021 Marie-Josée Kravis Women in Science Endeavor (Kravis WiSE) fellowship grant recipients. The Kravis WiSE initiative, created in 2020, provides sustained funding for scientific trainees as well as mentoring and significant professional development for women pursuing careers in biomedical research at MSK. Ms. Bou Puerto and Dr. Kim were recognized and presented their work at the second annual Kravis WiSE Symposium, conducted virtually in March 2021.
At MSK, women are represented in all levels of leadership within the organization and conduct a wide range of clinical and laboratory research. Despite this progress, more needs to be done to close the gender gap in research and career opportunities. Kravis WiSE provides essential and sustained funding for trainees as well as mentoring and professional development to women pursuing careers in biomedical research at MSK. This program will help ensure that MSK female scientists reach their greatest potential in their pursuit of scientific excellence.
Regina Bou Puerto
Mijin Kim, PhD
Meet the 2021 Fellowship Grant Recipients
Regina Bou Puerto received the Kravis WiSE Graduate Student fellowship, which provides a 3-year stipend and additional benefits to a female graduate student chosen by a faculty committee through a competitive review process.
Ms. Bou Puerto’s research focuses on the immune molecule interferon gamma, known to promote inflammation and play an important role in protecting against viruses and cancer. Her research suggests that interferon gamma might also quell inflammation in some contexts and may therefore prevent harmful autoimmunity. She is a member of the Alexander Rudensky lab at SKI.
Dr. Kim received the Kravis WiSE Postdoctoral fellowship, which provides a 2-year stipend and additional benefits to a female postdoctoral researcher who has completed at least 3 years of postgraduate study and is chosen by a faculty committee through a competitive review process. Dr. Kim presented her work at the annual Kravis WiSE Symposium and, as a condition of the fellowship, must apply for a K99/R00 National Institutes of Health Pathway to Independence Award to continue her research. She is a postdoctoral fellow in the Molecular Pharmacology Program and a member of the Daniel Heller lab at SKI.
Dr. Kim developed a new sensor technology to detect high-grade serous carcinoma using patient serum through collecting large data sets of physicochemical interactions to a sensor array composed of organic color center-modified carbon nanotubes. This strategy, which has 95% specificity to disease identification, has the potential to widely impact current medical practice by providing an early diagnostic/prognostic indicator.
