Behind every great woman in science, there’s another great woman in science

The number of women now entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics and medicine (STEMM) careers is growing at a faster rate than that of men. And although women still account for only about 35% of the STEMM workforce, research has shown that they are more likely to excel when given access to mentoring, support and guidance from other women with similar lived experiences (see go.nature.com/416cjkb).

To mark International Women’s Day, held each year on 8 March, six previous winners of Nature’s annual Inspiring Women in Science Award nominated someone from their own lives who deserves recognition for their contributions to research and support for other women in the sciences. The prize, which launched in 2018 in partnership with the Estée Lauder Companies, headquartered in New York City, is given to individuals who advance gender equity.

The nominees, whose contributions and characteristics are described in the winners’ own words below, span the globe and a broad range of career disciplines, researching everything from the smallest pathogens to the farthest stars.

They include business founders, thoughtful mentors, mothers, carers and a Nobel prizewinner. Their experiences can inspire not only other women in science, but also anyone looking to make STEMM a more welcoming place.

SHARON PEACOCK

Job: microbiologist at the University of Cambridge, UK, and director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK).

Research focus: whole-genome sequencing in diagnostic and public-health microbiology.

Nominated by: 2024 winner Claire Chewapreecha, a computational biologist at the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Bangkok.

C.C.: Sharon is an inspiring role model who, as someone who left school aged 16 before returning to academia later on, challenges the conventional image of a medical scientist. I first met Sharon at the University of Cambridge, UK, when I was an undergraduate student aiming to pursue a PhD and then return to Thailand. She offered me invaluable advice, including how to navigate the complexities of conducting research in Thailand and learning to take a helicopter view rather than focusing on individual challenges. She has been my mentor ever since, truly believing in my ability to succeed.

A true pioneer in public-health genomics, Sharon foresaw the transformative potential of sequencing technologies to combat infectious diseases. When genomic sequencing was still emerging, she led the way, setting a standard for its application in global health. Her leadership of the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (a group of UK academic institutions and public-health agencies in operation from April 2020 until March 2023) was extraordinary, enabling the United Kingdom to track SARS-CoV-2 lineages with precision, which provided crucial insights into the emergence and spread of variants, and aided vaccine development.

Sharon is a dedicated mentor, inspiring people from all backgrounds, including those from low- and middle-income countries, to push boundaries and give back to their communities. Her journey serves as a powerful reminder that talent exists everywhere, but opportunities do not. It inspires me to make the most of every opportunity that I get.

SIERIN LIM

Job: bioengineer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

Research focus: design and engineering of biomaterials for health and the environment.

Nominated by: 2023 winner Hortense Le Ferrand, a materials scientist at NTU, Singapore.

H.L.F: Sierin Lim has been an active advocate for women in STEMM for more than a decade, starting and overseeing many programmes at our university on top of her full-time role as an associate professor. It’s only in the past couple of years, as I’ve started getting involved in planning events and courses myself, that I realized the amount of work, courage and energy that Sierin puts in to make these things happen.

Seeing how hard she works inspired me to establish a joint workshop between NTU and Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana. For the past four years, US students have come to our university in Singapore to explore my research focus, biomimicry. This is a great opportunity for students to practise intercultural skills and learn about a research topic outside their curriculum.

On top of all this, Sierin is also a charming person. She’s learning French, which demands a lot of time and motivation, and she takes great care of her mother, often going home to Jakarta. Everyone at the university knows Sierin, but she deserves a pedestal.

YOON-KYOUNG CHO

Job: biomedical engineer at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), South Korea.

Research focus: lab-on-a-chip-based diagnostics, microfluidics and nanomedicine.

Nominated by: 2021 winner Kiana Aran, a biomedical entrepreneur and bioengineer at University of California, San Diego. (In February Aran also won the inaugural Sony Women in Technology award, in partnership with Nature.)

K.A.: Yoon-Kyoung Cho embodies a unique blend of scientific brilliance, entrepreneurial spirit and calm leadership. I first met her at a conference in China in 2019 when I was a new professor. Initially, I felt out of place among the leading international faculty members invited to this small, exclusive gathering. She immediately stood out for her warm, encouraging demeanour, taking the time to engage with me about her groundbreaking research on centrifugal microfluidics, but also making me feel included in discussions in a group of highly accomplished scientists. Our conversation left a lasting impression. Since then, she has excelled in academia and translated her lab-on-a-disc technology into the real world, founding successful companies.

It is rare for scientists to successfully bridge the gap between academia and industry, because the mindsets required for each are distinct. Cho’s success in founding companies shows her determination to ensure that her laboratory’s research isn’t just in journals, but provides a tangible benefit to society. But what truly draws me to her is her leadership style and her genuine care for her trainees’ well-being. One practice I’ve consciously adopted from her is an emphasis on creating an inclusive and encouraging environment. I strive to approach mentoring with the same care and attentiveness, to ensure that my students feel supported in both their academic and personal growth.

ADA YONATH

Job: crystallographer and structural biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.

Research focus: chemical and structural biology of ribosomes.

Nominated by: 2020 winner Samira Asgari, a computational biologist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City.

S.A.: I had the privilege of meeting Ada during the 2014 Global Young Scientists Summit, held in Singapore. I still remember how she spoke openly about the personal challenges she faced, her funding struggles, and the scepticism from peers while pursuing her groundbreaking work on the structure of the ribosome—a discovery that earned her a share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz. She didn’t sugar-coat the realities of conducting ambitious science, nor did she shy away from discussing the obstacles she overcame. These include being dismissed and even ridiculed by some of her colleagues, the struggle to fund her early research determining the 3D structure, and therefore the mechanics, of the ribosome; and the strain that her career placed on her personal relationships. Ada’s story is a powerful reminder that resilience and a clear sense of purpose are essential to walking new paths as a scientist.

Researchers don’t talk enough about how the measurement of scientific output has shifted to the amount of funding a researcher can secure early in their career, and the impact factor of the journals we publish in. As a result, most scientists in their early career now focus on writing low-risk grants with predictable results, instead of aiming for innovative, collaborative research that can lead to breakthroughs. Ada’s research inspired an entirely new field of science that continues to produce meaningful discoveries today.

RACHEL KARCHIN

Job: computational biologist at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

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Nature 639, 261-264 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00620-3

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Entries for the 2025 Nature Awards Inspiring Women in Science, run in partnership with the Estée Lauder Companies, close on 9 April. For more details, see go.nature.com/4b4dcyz.

This story originally appeared on: Nature - Author:Amanda Heidt