Celebrating MBLā€™s Women in Science

2021 E. E. Just fellow Indu Sharma, Hampton University, assists Hampton undergraduate Pa-Shun Hawkins in the lab. Credit: Dee Sullivan

Every February 11, the United Nations celebrates theĢż. Take a moment to celebrate the women in science at the MBL.Ģż

91Ā鶹ĢģĆĄ has always been a unique institutionā€”itā€™s part of the ā€œMBL magicā€ that many scientists and students talk about every year. Its founding was no exception. When the MBL was founded in 1888, it was unusual for its time in that it encouraged women students of science to apply on an equal footing with their male peers.

In the more than a century since, the 91Ā鶹ĢģĆĄ has had some ups and downs regarding women in scienceā€”the years between 1910 and 1970 saw a lull in female admissionsā€”but has made great strides in the last 60 years in making the institution a place where everyone can study and thrive, regardless of gender.

In a world where fewer than 30% of science jobs are filled by women, weā€™re proud that 53% of MBL employees (and 54% of our resident scientists) are women.

Of the 219 graduate and post-graduate students who attended one of MBLā€™s 2021 Advanced Research Training Courses, 119 (54%) were women.

MBL Cephalopod Intern Akin Grearson works in the Cephalopod Mariculture Facility.
MBL Cephalopod Intern Akin Grearson works in the Cephalopod Mariculture Facility.
Loretta Roberson performs experiments under water.
Loretta Roberson performs experiments under water. Courtesy: Loretta Roberson
University of Chicago students take measurements in Great Sippewissett marsh. Credit: Daniel Cojanu
University of Chicago students take measurements in Great Sippewissett marsh. Credit: Daniel Cojanu
MBL Semester in Environmental Science student Lauren Johnson.
MBL Semester in Environmental Science student Lauren Johnson.
Mirta Teichberg in her seagrass lab. Seagrass meadows, like coral reefs, provide a critical habitat for a great diversity of marine life, including fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Credit: Tom Vierus, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
Mirta Teichberg in her seagrass lab. Seagrass meadows, like coral reefs, provide a critical habitat for a great diversity of marine life, including fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Credit: Tom Vierus, Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT)
2021 Grass Fellow Carola Staedele studies the sensory system of ticks. Credit: Melissa Coleman
2021 Grass Fellow Carola Staedele studies the sensory system of ticks. Credit: Melissa Coleman
MBL Veterinarian Lisa Abbo takes a scale sample from a striped bass. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
MBL Veterinarian Lisa Abbo takes a scale sample from a striped bass. Credit: Emily Greenhalgh
Research Assistant Emily Lucas in the MBL's Cephalopod Mariculture Lab. Credit: Megan Costello
Research Assistant Emily Lucas in the MBL's Cephalopod Mariculture Lab. Credit: Megan Costello
Hannah Knighton in our Cephalopod Mariculture Room. Credit: Megan Costello
Hannah Knighton in our Cephalopod Mariculture Room. Credit: Megan Costello
Rut Pedrosa PĆ mies near a sediment trap during a redeployment of the Oceanic Flux Program mooring onboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer. Credit: JC Weber
Rut Pedrosa PĆ mies near a sediment trap during a redeployment of the Oceanic Flux Program mooring onboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer. Credit: JC Weber

Woman-led MBL News Highlights: 2021 Edition

Sea Anenomeā€™s Survival is Threatened by Current Levels of Wetland Pollution

In Need of New Reproductive Cells? This Marine Worm Shows a Way

Legends of Squid Research at the MBL: Chasing Down Why Neurons Live or Die

Dr. Karen Echeverri: Regenerate Arms? Spinal Cords? | Critically Speaking Podcast

Marine Biological Laboratory Names Anne W. Sylvester Director of Research

Cuttlefish Retain Sharp Memory of Specific Events in Old Age, Unlike Humans, Study Finds

Too Small to Eat? Indu Sharma, E.E. Just Fellow, Asks if Shape Helps a Microbe Survive

Las Ventajas de la Acuicultura / The Advantages of Aquaculture | Univision 34 Los Angeles

ā€œTake Fiveā€ with MBL Trustee Patrice Yarbough: From the MBL to NASA and Beyond

Whatā€™s so Bad About ā€¦ Nitrogen? | Bluedot Living

The Haunting Nature of Plastics | Hakai Magazine

This Creature Survived 24,000 Years in Siberian Permafrost | The New York Times

MBL Begins First Test of Tropical Seaweed Farming for Biofuels Production

Fast-Learning Cuttlefish Pass the Snacking Test

Coastal ā€˜Dead Zonesā€™ Are Multiplying. Seaweed Farms May Be the Solution | Bloomberg

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Women in an MBL Lab, 1928. Women in an MBL Lab, 1928. Credit: MBL History Project

MBLā€™s Women-Heavy History

During its long history, the 91Ā鶹ĢģĆĄ has been a source of inspiration for generations of women in scienceā€”fromĢżCornelia Clapp, who helped found the institution, and Rachel Carson, the mother of the modern environmental movement, to the thousands of female students who have studied in Woods Hole during the last 132 years.

Learn more about some of the MBLā€™s female leaders atĢżthe Legacy of Leadership exhibit.


Science and scientific discovery belong to everyone, no matter their gender, sexual identity, or color of their skin. At the MBL, we are working hard to createĢżan inclusive environmentĢżfor scientists, students, visitors, and fellows alike.

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Want to support women in science? Support the MBL.