Lost Women of Science Launches Podcast Series to Promote the Remarkable Women of Science You’ve Never Heard Of

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Journalist and author Katie Hafner, and bioethicist Amy Scharf, today announced the launch of the Lost Women of Science podcast series on November 4^th, in partnership with public media organization PRX and the award-winning Scientific American magazine.

The first season will include four in-depth episodes centered on Dr. Dorothy Andersen (1901-1963), a pediatric pathologist who identified and named cystic fibrosis in 1938. It will be available free on-demand across all major podcast listening platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Amazon Music.

The Lost Women of Science Initiative is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with two overarching and interrelated missions: to tell the story of female scientists who made groundbreaking achievements in their fields, yet remain largely unknown to the general public, and to inspire girls and young women to pursue education and careers in STEM. 

Scharf said: "The story of Dr. Dorothy Andersen is compelling. Not only was her work remarkable, but it was accomplished during a time when women were not recognized for their contributions to science. Our dream is that all students listening to this podcast series will be inspired to pursue new careers in STEM, because the world needs them, while at the same time appreciating the challenges that the women scientists who preceded them faced. We feel this series will "pay it forward, while paying it back." 

Hafner said: "The research into the science and the story of Dr. Dorothy Andersen has inspired me and our team for months. As a journalist, real life stories are especially compelling to me, and it is my hope that our listeners will come away inspired to overcome great challenges and adversity to pursue their dreams and make a real difference in the lives of many."

Lost Women of Science Scientist-in-Residence Dr. Jane Grogan said, "This project so resonates with me and my colleagues on several levels. Dr. Dorothy Andersen, the subject of our podcast’s first season, identified and worked to treat Cystic Fibrosis under very difficult conditions for the time; my work as the Chief Scientific Officer at the gene editing company Graphite Bio, similarly aims to root out serious diseases at a fundamental level. When Dr. Andersen worked in the 1930’s, women made up only five percent of practicing physicians; many decades later, I still recall being the only woman scientist in the room so many times. As an immunologist and cancer researcher, we must strive to better encourage women to pursue careers in STEM and become the female mentors both Dr. Andersen and I lacked in our own careers. This podcast series will become an important tool in this effort."

Early funding for Lost Women of Science came from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Schmidt Futures and the John Templeton Foundation. The initiative is also partnering with Barnard College, one-third of whose graduates are STEM majors. Harvey Mudd College graciously served as an early Fiscal Sponsor.

To learn more about the Lost Women of Science Initiative, or to donate to this important non-profit Initiative, please visit: www.lostwomenofscience.org

About Lost Women of Science:

The Lost Women of Science Initiative is a non-profit educational organization with the overarching goal of inspiring girls and young women — especially those from communities chronically underrepresented in the STEM professions — to embark on careers in STEM. The Initiative’s flagship is its Lost Women of Science podcast, producing four multi-episode seasons per year. As a full, mission-driven organization, the Lost Women of Science Initiative plans to digitize and archive our research efforts, and to make all primary source material available to students and historians of science.

MEDIA ADVISORY

For media who would like to hear an embargoed version of the Lost Women of Science podcast for review in advance, please contact one of our team members below. Katie Hafner and Amy Scharf will be available for interviews on November 2^nd and 3^rd.

SOURCE Lost Women of Science