Mary Beth Monroe, an associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering at the Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been selected to receive the 2023 Rosalind Franklin Society Special (RFS) Award in Science.
The RFS Awards in Science recognize contributions and dedication to advancing scientific knowledge, and outstanding peer-reviewed research by women and underrepresented minorities in STEM. The anthology of award winners is available digitally on the Rosalind Franklin Society website and in print.
“I am very grateful for this recognition from the RFS for my lab’s work that was published in Tissue Engineering, Part A (DOI: 10.1089/ten.tea.2022.0192),” says Monroe. “I’d especially like to acknowledge my former Ph.D. student, Dr. Henry Beaman, who spearheaded the published work. His creative approach to cell encapsulation within porous scaffolds could have a large future impact in wound healing and tissue engineering.”
Monroe leads the Monroe Biomaterials Lab in the multidisciplinary BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University. Monroe and her team aim to advance polymer chemistry to develop safer and more effective medical devices and improve healing outcomes. Their current research focuses on using shape memory polymers for hemorrhage control, Crohn’s fistula closure, and reducing the risk of infection and aiding wound treatment.
RFS, in partnership with Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., launched this prestigious annual award for the best paper by a woman or under-represented minority in science in each of the publisher’s more than 100 peer-reviewed journals to highlight the important contributions of these scientists and provide role models and mentors for younger scientists following in their footsteps. A total of $100,000 has been allocated for this year’s award winners. The award specifically recognizes the best paper published in 2023 in each of these journals.
The anthology includes a biography of each winner and an abstract of their selected work and is a remarkable compendium of research in science, engineering, and medicine that has been accomplished by outstanding investigators who, early in their careers, were not considered “real” scientists, engineers, or medical researchers because they did not fit the stereotypical scientist, engineer, or physician role.
The RFS Awards in Science 2023 was produced with support from the Rita Allen Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, and the Warren Alpert Foundation.
About the Rosalind Franklin Society
The Rosalind Franklin Society is an honorific, interdisciplinary, and international society which recognizes, fosters, and advances the important contributions of women in the life sciences and affiliated disciplines. In so doing, the Society honors the under-recognized achievements of the late Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), a British x-ray crystallographer whose work producing x-ray images of DNA was crucial in the discovery of its structure by James Watson and Francis Crick. Franklin symbolizes progress for women in science, but her accomplishments were not recognized during her lifetime, awarded posthumously, nor are they completely acknowledged today. To celebrate the life, work, and symbolic power of this remarkable heroine in science, the Society recognizes the work of outstanding women scientists, fosters greater opportunities for women in the sciences, and motivates and educates by examples young generations of women who have this calling.
About Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a global media company dedicated to creating, curating, and delivering impactful peer-reviewed research and authoritative content services to advance the fields of biotechnology and the life sciences, specialized clinical medicine, and public health and policy.