Space Gala 2022: Awardees
Reinvented Inc. is excited to finally announce our 2022 awardees who will be presented their awards at our inaugural Space Gala: A Celebration of Women in STEM in November at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Over the past two years, Reinvented has worked hard to recognize inspirational women in STEM who are working towards scientific advancement and the inclusion of diverse populations in these historically underrepresented field. In previous years we have called this award ceremony Recognizing Reinventors, but this year we wanted to be able to bring people together in-person to celebrate.
To Infinity & Beyond Award
This award has been given out every year since Reinvented started our annual awards ceremony in 2020. It is given to someone who has given their all towards making more room for diversity in STEM fields, especially for women and girls in STEM. The honoree puts in the hard work and takes on the challenge of advocacy and changemaking head on with dedication and determination. The traits we associate with this award are passionate, hardworking, and innovative. Each year, the Reinvented team selects the winner of this award, and this year was no different. Kimberly Fiock truly emodies not just everything this award stands for, but everything that Reinvented stands for.
Kimberly Fiock is an Experimental Pathology PhD candidate at the University of Iowa. She has a B.S. in Neuroscience and Psychology and recently completed her M.S. in Pathology. Kimberly uses human stem cells to answer questions about how the tau protein contributes to different types of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementias. In addition to her research, Kimberly assists with the Iowa NeuroBank Core, a brain tissue and stem cell repository at the University of Iowa. When she's not in the lab, Kimberly loves crafting, spending time with her cats, traveling with her husband, and working with the incredible staff at Reinvented to help change how the world views women in STEM!
Volunteer of the Year Award
It is an understatement to say that Reinvented would not be where it is today without the tireless efforts of our volunteers. Each year this award is presented to a volunteer who has donated exceptional amounts of time, passion, and drive towards the mission of Reinvented Inc. They are a leader, hardworking, and always looking for ways to improve Reinvented. The traits we associate with this award are passionate, hardworking, and driven. Varija Mehta, Reinvented's current CMO and youngest member of our executive team, has worked each and every day to increase our impact and empower our team.
Varija Mehta is a senior at a STEM-focused magnet school. She loves to learn about new technologies and is a strong advocate for gender equality in the field of STEM. At Reinvented Magazine, she currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer and finds the role incredibly rewarding. As CMO, she gets to work on projects and help bring Reinvented's programs and impact to girls all over the world. When she's not working, you'll probably find her reading a thriller novel, trying to learn Russian, or spending time with her friends.
Woman of the Year Award
This award is given to a woman who is reinventing the STEM space around her. They have demonstrated exceptional contributions in a STEM field and have used their knowledge to truly impact the community around them. They have conducted impactful outreach and have actively worked to make STEM fields more welcoming to diverse individuals. The traits we associate with this award are leadership, empowering, and inspiring. And our 2022 Woman of the Year truly embodies all of those things: Rose De Guzman, Ph.D.
Dr. Rose M. De Guzman is a neuroscientist and is currently a NRSA T32 postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College in California, received her BS in Nutritional Biochemistry at University of California, Davis, and earned her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at University at Albany, New York.
Much of science and medicine has been based on male brain and behavior. Her PhD and postdoctoral work, therefore, focus on shedding light on the female brain and reproductive health. Her PhD dissertation highlighted sex differences in regulating stress and mood related behaviors, particularly during postpartum. During the pandemic, her postdoctoral work focused on how SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy affect placental and fetal/child brain health. Her long-term goal is to help develop personalized, scalable, and non-invasive therapeutics - especially attainable treatment options globally, particularly in countries with limited resources.
Just as important as her scientific goals are her long-term outreach goal of making science accessible to underrepresented populations, especially those with similar background of being low SES, a first-gen college student/graduate, and an immigrant. After earning her PhD, she founded Women in Neuroscience (WiN) to build a community for WiN and work toward equality in the field. As elected chair of the Outreach and Mentoring Committees for Harvard Med Postdoc Association and Mass General Postdoc Association, respectively, she founded the “Pathways to Science and Medicine” initiative, where they provide workshops to community college students and pair them with mentors in science and medicine at MGH and HMS-affiliated hospitals. She is driven by her strong belief that a diverse scientific community broadens scientific innovation.
Woman of the Year Award Nominees
We received an overwhelming number of applications for this award this year, all from incredibly deserving and passionate women in STEM. While we could only select one winner, each of our nominees deserve recognition for their accomplishments in reinventing the STEM spaces around them.
