Miami, June 2, 2017 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Assistant Professor of microbiology at the Homestead Campus, Dr. M. Nia Madison, is launching a two-day science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) workshop for minority high school girls funded by L’Oréal USA For Women in Science’s Changing the Face of STEM Mentoring Grant. The inaugural MDC Microbiology Girls Club will take place June 14 & 15. Confirmed speakers include neuroscientist Dr. Lecia A.M. Brown and Dr. Ann Mullings, Director of Nursing Services at Baptist Health South Florida.
The Microbiology Girls Club at MDC will host up to 24 minority female high school students from the Medical Academy for Science and Technology (MAST) in Homestead. Together they will conduct exciting experiments at the Homestead Campus’ microbiology lab, attend lectures and tour the labs.
Dr. Madison, a L’Oréal USA For Women in Science 2010 fellow, hopes the experience of being a collegiate scientist will further spark their interest in STEM careers.
“The purpose of this project is to engage and inspire the next generation of STEM professionals,” said Dr. Madison. “We need to open up the STEM fields to people of all colors and genders.”
In addition to teaching at MDC, Dr. Madison is a biomedical scientist with more than a decade of research experience in retrovirology, parasitology and host innate immune responses.
About L’ORÉAL USA for Women in Science Program
The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science program is a global philanthropy that recognizes and rewards women scientists around the world at critical stages in their career. Since the worldwide program began in 1998, more than 2,250 scientists in over 110 countries have been awarded for their work. In the US, the For Women in Science program rewards post-doctoral women scientists for their contributions in STEM fields and commitment to serving as role models for younger generations. Now in its 13th year in the US, the program has awarded 60 post-doctoral women scientists nearly $3 million in grants.