The Celebrating Women's Careers in Chemistry event brought together students, scientists, and industry representatives from all across New England for an evening rich in sharing science and research.

Group Photo Back Row (L to R): Michelle Garnsey (Pfizer), Meg Greenslade (NESACS), Carolyn Cohen (Abbvie), Leticia Gomes (Northeastern), Lori Ferrins (Northeastern). Front Row: Anna Sromek (Northeastern), Kathleen Downey (MIT), Ekua Beneman (MIT), Collette Gordon (MIT), Scott Edmondson (Nimbus Therapeutics), Elaine Reichert (Harvard University); Bottom Left Bora Kang (MIT), Bottom Middle: Kae Hoang (Wellesley College) ; Top Right: Hannah Shay (MIT) ; Middle Right: Vivian Long (Wellesley College) Photos by Collette Gordon and Rina Krstic.

Inaugural Celebrating Women’s Careers in Chemistry Gathering Grand Success

by Karen Baird | Department of Chemistry |
Categories: Awards, Events, Postdocs, Research, Students

MIT's WIC+ collaborated with New England-area universities and professional organizations to present an evening of shared research and community building.

MIT’s Women in Chemistry+ partnered with the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, Harvard Women in Chemistry, Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry, Women Chemists Committee, and the Younger Chemist Committee to offer a space for chemists to share their research, network, and form community. The event, which included a career panel presentation, poster session, and networking, was held on March 6, 2025 and met with much success with over 200 attendees and 76 poster presenters.

Molly Warndorf discusses her research and poster entitled “PolyPal: A streamlined molecular dynamics workflow for accurate simulation of porous organic polymers” with an attendee. Photo by Collette Gordon

The goal of the event was to bridge the MIT Chemistry community with the greater Boston Community. WIC+ Co-Presidents Collette Gordon and Kathleen Downey and WIC+ Event Coordinator Ekua Beneman were eager to collaborate with the partner organizations to convene this first event.

Collette Gordon commented on the goals for this inaugural event: “During my first year as Co-President for WIC+, I aspired to bridge the gap between MIT WIC+ and local and national chemistry organizations and graduate institutions. My initial hopes for the CWCC event were to provide graduate students and undergraduates with a platform to explore varying career paths in chemistry, have a space to share their research journey, and form connections in both industry and academia.

Panelists answered audience questions following the presentation. Photo by Rina Krstic.

This event highlighted the importance of uplifting and connecting chemists in the local Boston area and beyond. The career panel, moderated by Carolyn Cohen (Principal Scientist, AbbVie and co-lead of the Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry (EWOC), Boston chapter), featured leading women chemists in industry, law, and government including:

  • Dr. Neelu Kaila, Vice President and Head of Medicinal Chemistry, Nimbus Therapeutics
  • Andrea Reid, Esq., Partner, Dechert, LLP
  • Dr. Lauren Prentis, Computational Chemist, Pfizer
  • Dr. Natalie LaFranzo, Vice President of Strategy at LINUS
Attendees engaged with poster presenters on topics including Chemical Engineering, Organic Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Materials Chemistry, Computational Chemistry, and Physical Chemistry. Photo by Collette Gordon.

Following the Career Panel was a networking and poster presentation with presenters from Harvard University, Brown University, Northeastern, Boston College, Boston University, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Wellesley, and local industries.

Awards for Best Poster were presented at the event and the winners included MIT Chemistry Graduate Students Bora Kang (3rd Year Ph.D. Student, Radosevich Lab), Carolyn Barnes, (5th Year Ph.D. Student, Kiessling Lab), Collette Gordon (3rd Year Ph.D. Student, Swager Lab), Molly Warndorf (4th Year Ph.D. Student, Swager Lab), and MIT Chemical Engineering graduate student, Jihye Roh (2nd Year Ph.D. Student, Coley Lab).

Sponsors for the event included Pfizer, Novartis, Nimbus Therapeutics, Sanofi, ACS, WCC, and MIT WIC+.

Two winners of Best Poster: Molly Warndorf (left) and Collette Gordon. Photo by Jennifer Pierre-Louis.

On the success of the event Gordon reflected: “It was beautiful to witness the connections being formed, stories shared, and community created during the event. I believe that the CWCC Event provided attendees with an introduction to new career paths and stories, a platform to present their research, and meet fellow chemists in their field and beyond. The WIC+ Executive Team and our collaborators look forward to continuing to organize the CWCC Event in the upcoming years and continuing to uplift our community through collaborative events.”

If you are interested in learning more about MIT’s Women in Chemistry+, visit their website.