Out to Innovate (formerly NOGLSTP)

Cameron Essex (they/them) is a geosciences graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where they study the Earth’s volcanoes and reconstruct climate histories using geochemistry. “The visibility of LGBTQIA2S+ people in STEM, especially the trans, non-binary, and intersex communities, is still as important as ever. With this fellowship, I will be able to access geochemistry- and volcano-specific conferences where I can receive feedback on my research and expand my scientific network as I transition into a Ph.D. program. Additionally, I envision establishing queer networks and visibility at these conferences where the LGBTQIA2S+ community has been traditionally unacknowledged and undercelebrated. I am grateful to the Out To Innovate community for the conference support, and I look forward to continue widening representation of LGBTQIA2S+ people in STEM.”

Dr. Matthew Ellis (he/him) is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego where he characterizes the regulatory mechanisms underlying the progression of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy with the ultimate goal of identifying generalizable targets which could be leveraged for the development of targeted therapies. “I am honored and grateful to have been selected for an Out to Innovate Career Development Fellowship. It is empowering to be celebrated for my gender identity alongside my professional success. This funding will provide me invaluable opportunities to engage and share my work broadly through attending internationally renowned scientific conferences and carve out my path to a faculty position where I can continue LGBTQ+ STEM advocacy alongside leading a premier research program.”

Ana Leticia Simal (they/them) is a neuroscience graduate student at the University of Guelph where they seek to discover sex-specific molecular pathways that drive the transition from acute to chronic pain. "It is an amazing honour to be recognized as an Out to Innovate Career Development Fellow. This award will provide invaluable support to advance my research in chronic pain and will give me the incredible opportunity to share my work and connect with fellow researchers and the chronic pain community as a whole. I would also like to highlight that this award means more than just support to scientific progress. Through my research, I hope to help move the dial, even if just a little, toward addressing the disproportionate impact of chronic pain on marginalized communities, including the LGBTQIA+ community, which has been often overlooked by biomedical research. I have seen firsthand how chronic pain can profoundly affect a person’s quality of life, and I am committed to contributing to the knowledge that could lead to better lives for my community by understanding the fundamental molecular pathways linked to pain chronification."

Today's Fellow spotlight is Zoe Clapacs! Zoe Clapacs (she/her) is a biomedical engineering graduate student at Washington University where she designs new methods to target delivery of liposomes to plasmacytoid dendritic cells. “Engineering as a field has historically been an inhospitable environment to women and even more so to trans women. To be recognized for my achievements as a researcher, educator and community builder rather than as a token is a great honor and represents the beginning of a shift in the natural sciences toward recognition of scholars who are not white, cis men. The Out to Innovate Career Development Fellowship will allow me to attend and to chair international conferences in the field of Immunoengineering, where I will present and hone my research in rare-leukocyte vaccine delivery and promote the scholarship of other trans, nonbinary, and intersex trainees conducting exceptional research in my field”

Yehya Barakat (they/them) is a neuroscience graduate student at the Jackson Laboratory and Tufts University where they study the genetic etiology and molecular mechanism underlying age-dependent hyperactivity. “I am very excited to be an Out to Innovate fellow. This fellowship will help support my experiments to identify a novel pathway important for age dependent hyperactivity. Additionally this will help sharpen my mentorship and leadership skills, supporting my goal to guide the next generation of Arab & LGBTQIA+ researchers in STEM who often arrive to America with innovative ideas and passion but are often left without advice or guidance. When I first came to America in 2017, I struggled with culture shock and a barrier to entry I couldn't break through until I found proper mentorship at Tufts and the Jackson Laboratory. I feel confident in my ability to attain my career goals with the Out to Innovate fellowship and become the scientist I aspired to be ever since I fell in love with science and research.”

🚨Attention researchers!🚨 The National Science Foundation has recently published a Dear Colleagues Letter (NSF 24-101, link in bio) calling for proposals to that aim to expand #LGBTQ+ participation in #STEM through research and other activities. Out to Innovate is interested in supporting collaborative efforts based on our society's work on this front. If you would like to collaborate, please contact tj-board [at] noglstp [dot] org #grants #NSF #academic #research #diversity #inclusion #equity #accessibility

In print today: "A Legacy of Cruelty to Sexual and Gender Minority Groups" (Read with no paywall here: https://lnkd.in/eaP9aAXv). This article really represents the past 10 years of my work in academic medicine trying to knit together this dark history as a teaching tool for today's medical students and physicians. It is too easy to point the finger at family or religion or politics as the places harming LGBTQ+ people but medicine has used scientific authority to bolster it all. We cannot begin to heal until we truly understand the problem. I am grateful to the New England Journal of Medicine for taking this important step in learning about their own part of this story. Who's next?

We celebrate the life and legacy of Lynn Conway, and we are sad to learn of her death. Lynn's contributions to electrical engineering are known as the Mead-Conway VLSI chip design revolution because it opened the door to take advantage of the shrinking size of transistors in the late 70s. Lynn is also celebrated for her advocacy on behalf of transgender people. We were honored to recognize her as our first LGTBQ+ Engineer of the Year in 2005 and host her as the keynote speaker at an Out to Innovate summit in 2014.

Our 2024 application cycle is now open for our #scholarships! If you, or a student you know, are #LGBTQ+ in a #STEM field, check out our different awards and their eligibility requirements. The portal closes June 1st. So apply today!