Welcome to Mademoiselle Scientist

Mademoiselle Scientist is a digital platform space, that started as a way to share my journey as a Black woman in STEM and support the next generation of scientists. As a young Black girl, my dream was to use science to make an impact because I believe STEM is a tool that can change the world. Science is everywhere and should be accessible to everyone. Here you will find reading lists, books, STEM series, science spotlights, and various STEM resources to help you along your journey.

If you believe in this mission and are interested in working with me, send me a message.

Thank you for visiting and my new website will be launching soon.

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientists: Beyond the (Micro)Scope Podcast:

 Beyond the (Micro)scope is a podcast focusing on science, technology, and business topics of women in science. I’m a huge advocate for women in STEM so this podcast was perfect.

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientists: Beyond the (Micro)Scope:

Beyond the (Micro)Scope was founded by Lindsay Claiborn and Dr. Mumu Xu. Claiborn is a multimedia journalist with a background in television reporting and digital producer at FOX Soccer. She is a Claremont McKenna College alum and has a master’s in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University. Xu is an assistant professor in aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park and her research focuses on designing and controlling unmanned systems. She has an M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology and her B.S. from Harvard University.

What is Beyond the (Micro)Scope?:

Photo Credit: Beyond the Microscope

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist: Donna Kridelbaugh

In my last Mademoiselle Spotlight, I wrote about The Thesis Whisperer, and for this post, I am featuring Donna Kridelbaugh as this month’s Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist. Donna has amazing content for early career researchers and professionals. 

Photo Credit: Donna Kridelbaugh

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist: Donna Kridelbaugh:

When I started Mademoiselle Scientist I only had a handful of followers and I did not know about the online science community. I just knew I wanted to share. Donna was one of my first followers who left a comment and were able to set up a time to chat. She shared her STEM journey and her work with her Science Mentor. I talked about my STEM journey and what I’m doing with Mademoiselle Scientist. We have some overlapping interests and it was nice talking to someone who understands the STEM journey. She gave me some great advice and I know it will help my readers out too. Even though I’m new to this platform, I’m excited about what is next. Thank you Donna for helping and inspiring me to continue to write on this platform.

What is Science Mentor?:

Mademoiselle Spotlight Feature: The Thesis Whisperer/Dr. Inger Mewburn

As a graduate student, I unofficially started generating ideas and topics for Mademoiselle Scientist and discovered my first higher education blog, The Thesis Whisperer.

Photo Credit: TheThesisWhisperer 

Mademoiselle Spotlight: The Thesis Whisperer/Dr. Inger Mewburn:

Before officially starting Mademoiselle Scientist I reached out to The Thesis Whisperer. She gave me some great feedback and tips to get started. The advice I remember the most is to just start. There are not many blogs and platforms in the early academic, science, women in STEM, student and early research career category so there is a huge need. Currently, I’m two years in. I have a lot to learn and many things to share on my STEM journey.

Looking back I’m glad I took The Thesis Whisperer’s advice and recommend it to everyone. It is a gem of resources for graduate students and professionals. I can’t believe I didn’t know about The Thesis Whisperer earlier in my academic career. It would have been handy. On the bright side, I’m glad I found it.

What is The Thesis Whisperer?

Mademoiselle Scientist/Spotlight on Science: Dr. Monica Cox

In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (March 8) I want to do a double feature to spotlight Dr. Monica Cox as this month’s Mademoiselle Scientist and Spotlight on Science. If you want to check out my last double feature check out my feature about MySciCareer and Dr. Amy Freeman to learn more about women that are doing great things in science!

A couple of weeks ago I was on Twitter and I came across Dr. Monica F. Cox after participating in a #BLACKandSTEM Twitter chat. I like to keep my Mademoiselle Scientists network growing because it helps me build a strong support system. In an earlier post I talked about the importance of professional mentors and how I didn’t have many women STEM mentors growing up.

Spotlight on Science: This Week in Science (#TWIS)

In my last Spotlight on Science Post I talked about MySciCareer as a resource for scientists. Now, I’m back for another resource for scientists. The only podcasts I follow are This Week in Virology (TWIV) and This Week in Global Health (TWiGH). So when I heard about This Week in Science (TWIS) on Twitter I had to check it out. I love learning about anything related to STEM. The great thing about TWIS is that they talk about various topics in science and each episode is a chance to find out the latest things happening in science and technology.

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientists: MySciCareer

Last week I was reading Biochem Belle’s blog post, Changing Course, Part 3: Open exploration. This post was a continuation post and she shared how the myIDP tool helped her figure what she wanted to do next in her career. After spending time on the myIDP tool she discovered, MySciCareer.com. Since I never heard MySciCareer I had to explore and decided this would be a be a great double Feature Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist post.

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientists: MySciCareer:

MySciCareer was founded by two Mademoiselle Scientists that are biochemists, Eva Amsen and Lou Woodley. Eva is the Outreach Director at F1000 Research and Lou is currently a community engagement specialist. Another cool thing about these Mademoiselle Scientists is that they are both bloggers and are big on science outreach. They both have lots of writing and blogging up their sleeve. Eva launched and ran the developmental biology blog, the Node, shares her musician side on her blog, MusiSci, and blogs on easternblog.net and The Finch and Pea. Lou founded and served as Managing Editor of BlueSci Magazine, If you want to see more of her, check out her blog, Social in Silico, where she integrates people, science and technology.

It’s great to see fellow Mademoiselle Scientists that are bloggers and collaborating. When I started Mademoiselle Scientist I only knew about a handful of women in STEM bloggers, now every day my list is growing. I’m glad these Mademoiselle Scientists decided to come together to create MySciCareer. 

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist: Dr. Amy Freeman:

In my last Spotlight on Science post I talked about Dr. Greg Martin. For this Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist post I will like to spotlight Dr. Amy Freeman.

Photo Credit: AmyFreeman.net

Spotlight on Science/Mademoiselle Scientist: Dr. Amy Freeman:

Dr. Freeman is a writer, speaker, educator and Assistant Dean of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Construction Management from Washington State University, and both a Master of Science degree in Architectural Engineering and Ph.D. in Workforce Education from the Pennsylvania State University. In addition, she belongs to numerous organizations including the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) to name a few. She is a perfect example of a great role model for women in STEM.

The first time I met Dr. Freeman was at my first college fair. She told me about the opportunities at Penn State for students interested in STEM: Pre-First Year Science and Engineering Program and the Women in Engineering Program Orientation. A few years later I participated and both of those programs and they helped shaped me into who I am today. She is also one of the reasons I’m passionate about helping the next generations of scientists. When you meet Dr. Freeman you can see the passion in her heart when it comes to STEM diversity. She oversees many diversity programs such as the Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP) and Women in Engineering Program (WEP) among other things. Not to mention she is a dynamic speaker. If you want to sample a bit of her energy check out her YouTube Channel.  Do you feel her energy?

Spotlight on Science: Global Health with Dr. Greg Martin #TWiGH

Photo Credit: Dr. Greg Martin

Since I am a toxicologist who is interested in vaccine development I started taking courses on Coursera.org to learn more. In my first Spotlight on Science post I talked about Dr. Vincent Racaniello and how his two virology courses helped me learn more about virology and vaccines. Similarly, Dr. Greg Martin is a scientist who shares his knowledge to make science accessible to all on his YouTube Channel and Twitter. Dr. Martin is a medical doctor with an MPH and MBA, Editor in Chief of Globalization and Health, and has diverse experience in global health. He is the person to watch if you want to learn more about global health.

Spotlight on Science: Dr. Vincent Racaniello, This Week in Virology (TWIV)

Photo Credit: Columbia University

In my 1st Blogiversary post I shared some of the things you can expect from Mademoiselle Scientist. Just like I have my Mademoiselle Scientist Spotlight posts I decided to start September with a new series, called Spotlight on Science. This series will feature scientists, programs, podcasts and any other resources that supports scientists.

For my first Spotlight on Science blog post I am featuring Dr. Vincent Racaniello. Dr. Racaniello is a Professor of Microbiology & Immunology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He has a YouTube Channel, Blog and is the host of a Science Podcast, called This Week in Virology (TWiV). Not to mention he offered two courses in virology on Cousera.org that I took and enjoyed. Since his courses are over I tune into his podcasts and blog. Dr. Racaniello has a way of explaining virology that makes it easier to understand, engaging and fun. He is not only a virologist, but a great science communicator. If you are interested in virology you should check out his website.