To close off the year, the Rosalind Franklin Society will be honoring Vilcek Foundation founders Jan and Marica Vilcek at their annual meeting of the board.  Dedicated to recognizing, fostering, and advancing the contributions of women in the life sciences, the Society will be honoring Jan and Marica for their work in raising awareness of not only immigrant scientists, but women scientists as well, through the Vilcek Prizes. 

“One of our goals is to make sure women are active on conference agendas, juries, and as award winners.” said Karla Shepard Rubinger, Executive Director of the Rosalind Franklin Society.  “Women need to be a part of the selection committee to be included [in these areas], and Jan and Marica have understood this when building the Vilcek Prize juries.”  By creating juries of scientists who are “both eminent in the field and diverse,” they have ensured that the winners selected are also diverse in terms of gender, background, and circumstances, Karla said.

The board of the Society includes two past Vilcek Prize winners – Drs. Titia de Lange and Huda Zoghbi – as well as Jan Vilcek.  The honor will be presented at the Society’s annual board meeting, held at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington D.C. on December 19 – 20.  The meeting will also include presentations by notable scientists, including Joanna Wysocka, one of the winners of the 2013 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science. 

The presentations will be recorded and available on the Rosalind Franklin Society’s website – be sure to check in for updates!