Introduction
More women are working in science than ever before. Yet they make up less than a tenth of UK professors in science, technology, engineering and maths. Nonetheless, a diversity of policies and initiatives dedicated to promoting women’s careers has set the wheels of change in motion. Inspired by the Suffragettes who campaigned for equal voting rights, here we are celebrating the achievements of women in science. For the third time since its launch, Suffrage Science 2014 is honouring eleven leading women in the life sciences. These pioneering women will receive an heirloom brooch or pendant from the current heirloomholders, who received it in 2012. In 2016, the jewellery will be passed onto the next generation of outstanding women life scientists and communicators. The handcrafted heirloom jewellery, designed by students at Central Saint Martins University of the Arts London, mimic the specially commissioned jewellery worn by noted women of the Suffrage movement. In this booklet you can discover the protégés’ life stories and their thoughts on the issue of women’s rights in science. The eleven women celebrated this year are...
Shannon Au Associate Professor of the School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Jenny Rohn Principal Research Associate in Clinical Physiology, University College London
Sarah Bohndiek Group Leader at the Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, and CRUK Cambridge Institute
Kate Storey Chair of Neural Development and Head of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Dundee
Jane Endicott Professor of Cancer Structural Biology, Newcastle University
Irene Tracey Director of the Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain, University of Oxford
Lynda Erskine Chair in Development Neurobiology, University of Aberdeen
Xiaomeng (Mona) Xu Assistant Professor of Experimental Psychology, Idaho State University
Anne Ferguson-Smith Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator and Professor of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Ele Zeggini Professor of Human Genetics, Wellcome Trust Sangar Institute
Anja Groth Associate Professor and Group Leader of Molecular Biology, University of Copenhagen
4
