SISTER

A collage depicting Dr. Steingraber being arrested by two police officers in swat gear. The figures are cut out in pink with a black background and sprigs of real plants in the corner.

Dr. Sandra Steingraber: “I did not become a biologist to write eulogies for the species I study”

As extinction rates accelerate, scientists get louder. Dr. Sandra Steingraber spoke these words at the Citigroup headquarters before being arrested in protest of the financing of fossil fuels.

a high school classroom, from the viewpoint of the teacher's desk. There are rows of student desks in the middle of the room and lab tables lining the walls. Visible behind the teacher's document camera are cardboard standees of scientists with marginalized identities, rather than students. The image was taken during the pandemic.

Having ADHD doesn’t mean you’re not cut out for STEM

Too often, educators mistake the symptoms of ADHD for a lack of care or interest in the subject.

A photo from the hips down of a person holding a backpack and wearing sneakers. They're standing on a concrete sidewalk with a brick walk behind them.

Community College, Beyond the Bias

My path was hardly the “traditional” college student’s story.

A collage of black and white neurons with a single rainbow colored section of neurons

A life of the neurodivergent mind

I entered graduate school thinking I’d live a “life of the mind.” I just didn’t think it’d be my mind specifically.

Digital illustration of an open laptop with a checkbox and the words "Not eligible" "not welcome" "not supported." The background is light purple and orange with checkboxes making a pattern.

International STEM students need funding opportunities, too — especially now

It is virtually impossible for international students to seek financial stability, and the pandemic has compounded the difficulties faced by international students.

An illustration of the Statue of Liberty as a scientist - with lab goggles and blue gloves holding a pipette. The background is a stormy red/blue/purple with a gritty texture.

Dreams Built on Myths: Of Science and the American Dream

As a Latinx, woman of color, immigrant scientist trained in the United States, science was at the heart of my American Dream.

An illustration of a Black woman with an afro wearing orange-framed glasses with media icons (play buttons, Twitter and Tik Tok logos, word bubbles, quotation marks, triangles) dancing around her face with a hazy orange and pink background.

We need more STEM Black Girl Magic on our screens, and we won’t wait around for it

As a young Black girl growing up, I remember not seeing many scientists who looked like me.

A classic yellow pencil is erasing the background, a colorful gradient with light blue line drawings of nature-inspired symbolism.

Gatekeeping in STEM is a symptom of epistemicide

Epistemicide is “the killing, silencing, annihilation, or devaluing” of epistemologies, or systems of knowledge.

A person standing alone in front of a sulphur spring.

What my asexuality and imposter syndrome are teaching me about belonging

Here’s what my internal struggle with impostor syndrome, in both the queer and scientific communities, has taught me about belonging.

Teddy is standing on a boulder in the woods, surrounded by fall foliage. He is smiling and has short red hair and large glasses and is wearing a dark red and white Raglan Henley shirt and black jeans.

Trans. Visible. Unapologetic.

How can my mold-breaking trans body fit into such narrow understandings of what professionalism can look like, and with that, what a doctor can look like?

A room in ruins with a broken window showing lush green foliage.

Climate Justice is Social Justice

You cannot have climate justice without social justice or Black liberation or Indigenous sovereignty.

a dirt path winds through a green mountainous meadow filled with bright poppies and agave plants

Becoming a Better Advocate In a Time of Isolation

I am still learning what lifelong, everyday solidarity looks like for me, especially as a STEM advocate and educator.

Danielle is looking at the camera, smiling wide in front of a chalkboard featuring a drawing of a brain. Text reads: Black In Neuro

Lessons Learned From Black In Neuro Week

The response from the Black in Neuro community was incredible, and beyond anything we could’ve imagined.

Luz Milbeth Cumba Garcia is smiling and talking to someone facing away from the camera.

Reinventing Myself in a Pandemic: From Immunologist to Science Communicator

This pandemic has shown the power that we Puerto Rican and Latin American scientists have when we unify our voices for the common good.

Man writes on interactive art installation dedicated to Mali Watkins and Black Lives Matter. Photo courtesy of Walter Wallace.

Channeling Rage When I Don’t Have a Ride to the Protest

I realized that there was one space I could still access from my apartment: the academy.

A couple sprigs of green leafy plants are on a white surface next to an open laptop.

As scientists, we need to stop using harmful and misleading terminology

Using offensive terminology in a scientific context does not erase its potential for harm.

ft: A woman swings a pickaxe at rocks on a slope in the desert. A view of Wyoming's Red Desert, with red and tan striped rocks covered by pine trees.

It’s time to change the geosciences’ outdated, exclusionary, and ableist field requirements

Geoscience programs should use this moment to pivot and to become more inclusive.

A colorful mural featuring an artistic rendering of a face

Whose nation is it anyway? Decolonizing global health narratives

It is critical for organizations to decide whether they will be part of the problem or the solution in decolonization.