Inspiring Women

Laura Niklason Dr. Laura Niklason is a physician scientist, entrepreneur and mentor. She is co-founder, president and CEO of a company (Humacyte) that was sparked from her novel and translation research. Dr. Niklason’s work as a vascular engineer has led to her recognition as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of…

Prof. Dr. Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä Prof. Dr. Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä is a Professor in Cardiovascular Genomics at A.I.Virtanen Institute, University of Eastern Finland (UEF). She was born in 1980 in Kiuruvesi, Finland. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine in Kuopio in 2008 and did her postdoctoral studies at the University of California San Diego. In 2015,…

Prof. Dr. Jeanette Erdmann Prof. Dr. Jeanette Erdmann, a respected cardiovascular geneticist and leader at the Institute of Cardiogenetics and the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), passed away on July 9, 2023 at 57. Born in Emsland, Germany, in 1965, she earned her degree in biology from the University of Cologne. Jeanette was a…

Brigid L.M. Hogan, PhD, FRS Dr. Hogan became the first female Department Chair in the Duke University School of Medicine. She is currently Chair Emeritus and Research Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at the Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Hogan is a pioneer and leader in the field of developmental biology. She…

Josephine Adams, PhD Dr. Adams is a biochemist and cell biologist who built her career in both the UK and the US (Harvard and Cleveland Clinic). Her areas of research involve the extracellular matrix, its organization, and functional roles in regulating cell behavior, with emphasis on cancer cell adhesion, motility and metastasis, and tissue fibrosis.…

Kathy Griendling, PhD Dr. Griendling’s pioneering research is on the role of NADPH oxidases (Nox) in vascular biology and disease. Her work has elucidated how Nox-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulate the signaling pathways leading to smooth muscle proliferation, migration and differentiation, and their functional relevance in hypertension and diabetes. Dr. Griendling had visited Johns…

Joann Murphy-Ullrich Joann Murphy-Ullrich contributed to several significant discoveries, including the identification of a cellular de-adhesive role for matricellular extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. This function controls cell adhesion, migration and cell survival, a process called intermediate cell adhesion. She and her team discovered the role of thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) as an activator of latent TGF-β, elucidating…

Rosalind Kornfeld, Ph.D. Rosalind Kornfeld, Ph.D. (1935-2007) was a pioneer in the field of glycoprotein structure and function. She made seminal contributions to our understanding of the assembly of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides, lectin-glycan binding specificity, and mechanisms controlling sugar nucleotide biosynthesis. Rosalind was Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Washington…

Rita Levi-Montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini was a Jewish Italian Scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 for discovering growth factors. She discovered Nerve Growth Factor in the laboratory that she set up in her bedroom when she was hiding from Nazis during World War II in Italy. Rita Levi-Montalcini was active…