SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--During an online interview session today, Dr. Kiana Aran, associate professor at Keck Graduate Institute, and Chief Scientific Officer at Cardea Bio, announced the formation of the non-profit, Aran Nebula. The objectives of this non-profit are to reinvent how academia collaborates with industry, and to address the gender imbalance throughout all places of leadership in science.
In today’s interview session - headed by TEDx speaker, San Diego Business Journal’s Business Woman of the Year in 2017, and President & co-founder of LunaPBC, Dawn Barry - Dr. Aran shared that after winning the prestigious Nature Research Award on October 28, she decided that using the $40,000 prize money that came with the award would be the perfect timing and occasion to establish the Aran Nebula.
“Through recent efforts, the number of female talent enrolled in STEM fields at universities have been steadily increasing over the last decade. However, after graduation, this number significantly drops in the work force and especially in positions of power and influence. We are wasting almost half of the great minds of our generation, due to this inefficient pipeline,” Dr. Kiana Aran states, and continues. “To solve this global problem, it is critical that we uplift more great female minds into places of power in academia and STEM-based industries, as it will bring new perspectives, novel science, innovation, and breakthrough solutions. We, at the Aran Nebula, are here to ensure that this happens in STEM.”
"The biotech industry is having a major impact in our region and the general economy that goes beyond finding innovative medical solutions. It is becoming a very significant engine of job creation, creating thriving communities and having a major cultural impact. However, we continue to see disappointingly few female leaders and this is something we must address," states serial entrepreneur, investor, and co-CEO of ALMA Life Sciences, Dr. Magda Marquet, and continues, "We need organizations that can inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and leaders in science - that's why I applaud Dr. Aran’s leadership and I think it's very important to support her great initiative.”
Under the slogan of giving rise to the next generation of leaders in science, the Aran Nebula is a non-profit organization has been set to initially address two overall objectives:
- Reinvent how academia collaborates with industry, so scientific findings translate into real-life applications and solutions much faster and better.
- Bring balance to the gender gap in all places of power in science. The day when there is gender balance in leadership and places of power in science - e.g., at Universities, Funding organizations, Policy making, Science-based start-ups, Peer-reviewed Journals etc. – this objective dissolves.
The Aran Nebula will work towards continuously educating all their members to be better suited to seek and obtain leadership roles in science. People and organizations who would like to support the vision and mission of the Aran Nebula, can go to arannebula.org to learn more and register.