Women in STEM
This month, we look at what the University of Rochester’s women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—STEM—are doing to advance discovery in their fields. With your support, they can do even more.
What makes surgeons great? How do they develop—and practice—the critical skills needed to deliver life-saving care?
For Sarah Peyré, head of the Institute for Innovative Education (IIE) at the University of Rochester Medical Center, the answers go beyond the classroom.
“People come here to learn not just because of what we teach, but how we teach,” she says. “Taking a team-based, patient-centered approach is—and always has been—at the core of what we do.”
Children and rare neurological diseases
Erika Augustine ’03M (MD), ’10M (FLW), ’14 (MS-TR) is a pediatric neurologist who works with children with rare neurological diseases. As both a researcher and a clinician, she is focused on bringing forward new treatments to help children function better, improve their quality of life, and survive longer.
Jannick Rolland, the Brian F. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering and the director of the Center for Freeform Optics, and Cristina Canavesi ’13 (MS), ’14 (PhD), ’15S (MBA) are scientists and entrepreneurs. They founded LighTopTech, a University of Rochester spinoff that has developed a novel optical device that makes cut-free biopsies possible.
Women, graduate studies, and STEM
Graduate students play an important role at Rochester—they teach, mentor, and conduct research. The four women profiled here do all of this, and they are exploring important topics such as tissue and tendon engineering, the connections between genetics and health, and how to combine skills in business and data analysis.
Learn, Discover, Heal, Create—and Make the World Ever Better
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Top photo features graduate student Leah Frenette who is working with chemistry professor Todd Kraus to untangle the mystery of quantum dots. Read more.