The 2021 KWiSE National Annual Conference was successfully commenced on May 1st, on an all-virtual platform, where all KWiSE members in the US got together to communicate.

The conference, with about 115 attendees, started off with opening remarks from the KWiSE President Dr. Jayoung Kim and a congratulatory speech from the former KWiSE President and current KWiSE Advisory Board Chair, Dr. Hey-Kyoung Lee. Following this were introductions and news from the 7 chapter presidents from all across the US.

For the keynote presentations, first, Dr. Mihyeon Jeon, Dr. Hyesung Park, and Dr. Sungsil Moon, by the current HQ members, presented on ‘Gender Gap Issues’. Second, on the topic of ‘How to improve the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion’, president Dr. Jayoung Kim interviewed Dr. Lynn K Gordon, Professor of Ophthalmology and Senior Associate Dean, Equity and Diversity Inclusion at School of Medicine, UCLA.

Meetings divided by region followed the keynote presentations, with 5 chapters discussing various topics. The NY/NJ chapters will have their meetings on May 29th.

The announcement of the 2021 KWiSE Outstanding Woman Scientist Award was held, with the honorable winner being Dr. Sungsil Moon, a Microbiologist at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Details on the conference and each chapter program will be uploaded in the future on the conference website(kwise.org/conf).