Academic event: “Celebrating Women in STEM”

Honouring women’s transformative impact across STEM disciplines requires our full acknowledgment, as their innovation and resilience reshape scientific boundaries—actively recognizing their achievements remains fundamental to establishing truly representative and inclusive scientific environments.

Provisions: Mimosa, Juice, Vegetable Mediterranean Quiche and Red Velvet Cake.

Event Schedule-

Guest Presentations

• Dr Liz Zijing Li: 20 minutes
• Dr Nerea Irigoyen: 20 minutes

Networking Break: 20 minutes

• Dr Tara Love: 20 minutes
• Dr Bridget Gildea: 20 minutes

Networking Break: 20 minutes

Closing Remarks

• Thank you address by Mousumi Shyam

Invitees:

1. Meet up with Dr Liz Zijing Li, Founder of Mimicrete 

Dr. Liz Zijing Li is the founder of Mimicrete, an award-winning clean technology company pioneering vascular self-healing concrete to enable resilient, low-carbon infrastructure. A UKRI Women in Innovation Award winner and Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Liz leads with a rare combination of scientific depth and industry-recognised leadership. Under her guidance, Mimicrete was named CleanTech Company of the Year and has secured over $2.5 million in commercial trial value, working with global Tier-1 industrial partners across the UK, EU, Asia and the Middle East. She has driven the company’s international collaborations and commercial scale-up, positioning Mimicrete at the forefront of decarbonising global infrastructure. Liz is passionate about climate resilience and gender equity in STEM, using her platform to advance innovation through inclusive leadership.

2. From Emerging Viruses to Research Independence: the Ups and Downs of Becoming a Principal Investigator at Cambridge University – Dr Nerea Irigoyen

Dr Nerea Irigoyen is a Research Group Leader in the Division of Virology (Department of Pathology) at the University of Cambridge. Nerea undertook a PhD in molecular virology at the Spanish National Biotechnology Centre in Madrid (Spain), where she studied the assembly and maturation of the capsid of the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV). In October 2010, she moved to the Department of Pathology in Cambridge to study non-canonical translational mechanisms in coronaviruses and retroviruses under the supervision of Prof Ian Brierley as a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow (Wellcome Trust). During that period, she also applied a technique called ‘ribosome profiling’, a global snapshot of translation, to RNA viruses such as coronaviruses (e.g. MHV-A59), retroviruses (e.g. MuLV and HIV-1), and flaviviruses (e.g. Dengue and Zika viruses). In September 2018, she established her research group to understand how virus protein translation can play a role in viral pathogenicity and disease, focusing on virus-host interactions. Her model systems are coronaviruses (e.g., MHV-A59 and SARS-CoV-2) and flaviviruses (e.g., Zika virus). In 2024, she was awarded a Wellcome Trust-Career Development Award for understanding Zika virus-induced neuropathogenesis and neurotropism.

3. Meeting with Dr Tara Love, Co-Founder and CTO of NANOPLUME Ltd.

Dr. Tara Love is the Co-Founder and CTO of NANOPLUME Ltd. (NANOPLUME Website ),  a venture-backed startup developing sustainable aerogel insulation to improve energy efficiency in buildings and cold chain logistics. She completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge (Jesus College and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows), where she researched porous media, colloidal dispersions, and wellbore strengthening. A repeat founder with previous ventures in microfluidics and education, Tara brings interdisciplinary expertise across geoscience, materials chemistry, and fluid formulations. A graduate of IndieBio (SOSV) and Carbon13, she leads innovation in biomaterials, process intensification, and circular manufacturing. She is also a mentor and advocate for women and neurodivergent individuals in STEM, committed to inclusive, impact-driven science.

4. Meeting with Curiosity Incubator Founder Dr Bridget Gildea

Bridget Gildea founded the Curiosity Incubator to develop practical, behavioural science-backed solutions to global challenges. She is a Senior Research Associate at the Intellectual Forum at Jesus College, and a Member of the Board of Advisors at the Cambridge Behavioural Insights Team. As a Consultant for Public Good, she applies behavioural science to learning and skills acquisition for organisations like the European Climate Foundation and LSHTM. Previously at Harvard Kennedy School, Gildea established the first practitioner-focused behavioural science programme and created learning partnerships with organisations like the MacArthur Foundation, InterAmerican Development Bank and for the German Bundestag.  Earlier, she led the Policy & Universities portfolio for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s US Network. Gildea teaches in various parts of Cambridge, writes about behavioural science application, and has created over 120 applied learning programs globally, bridging theoretical insights with implementable solutions to complex challenges. More about the formulation of the Curiosity Incubator available in this podcast.

Organised and hosted by Mousumi Shyam.