Nominations are open!
The AWIS Chicago “Scientist of the Month” is an area scientist who promotes the advancement of women in the fields of science, technology, and engineering (STEM). This monthly series was launched in 2009 and resurrected in 2010 with new contributors.
Nominees to be profiled in this series should be a scientist who has had an impact on your life or career, both past and present, or whom you believe is worthy of recognition for their research or contributions to their institution. The nominee does not need to be an AWIS member, does not need to be a woman, and can be a mentor, friend, or colleague. There is no deadline for this nomination process and nominations submitted by the 15th of each month will be profiled the following month. Email awiscommunications@gmail.com with your nominations.
- Fall 2026 SOTM: Dr. Catherine Alicia Best-Popescu
By Veronica Villanueva Dr. Best-Popescu is an exceptional scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is an Assistant Research Professor and the director of the Cellular Neuroscience Imaging (CNI) Lab in the Department of Bioengineering. Dr. Best-Popescu’s research interest is in studying the intersection of brain structure, function and disease across the nano… Read more: Fall 2026 SOTM: Dr. Catherine Alicia Best-Popescu - Spring 2026 SOTM: Dr. Lena Al-Harthi
By Sophie Wu and Veronica Villanueva Dr. Lena Al-Harthi is a scientist who wears many hats. She is a professor and chair in the Department of Microbial Pathogens at Rush Medical College. She also heads the division of translational science, which administers all biomedical education programs including the PhD program at Rush, and is a… Read more: Spring 2026 SOTM: Dr. Lena Al-Harthi - Spring 2025 SOTM: Dr. Anne Marie March
By Veronica Villanueva and Sophie Wu Physicist Anne Marie March has always been fascinated by atoms and molecules. As a child, she imagined them as small billiard balls, solid and striped spheres darting from one place to another. She was particularly fascinated by this phenomenon in liquids. Her father, who introduced her to science, was… Read more: Spring 2025 SOTM: Dr. Anne Marie March - Winter 2025 SOTM: Dr. Kim Selting
By Elodie Kadjo Dr. Kim Selting, Veterinary Radiation Oncologist and Cancer Treatment Researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Dr. Kim Selting is a veterinary radiation oncologist and a cancer treatment researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (UIUC) Cancer Center. She got her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and her MS and… Read more: Winter 2025 SOTM: Dr. Kim Selting - Fall 2024 SOTM: Suguna Pappu, M.D./Ph.D.
By Elodie Kadjo Dr. Suguna Pappu, Clinical Associate Professor, Carle Illinois College of Medicine Suguna Pappu is a clinical associate professor at Carle Illinois College of Medicine. She obtained bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and economics from Miami University in Ohio, a PhD in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and a medical… Read more: Fall 2024 SOTM: Suguna Pappu, M.D./Ph.D.