WICTO Magazine: 2022-2023 Edition

MEET THE TEAM

2022 - 2023 EXECUTIVES

Anyone interested in learning more about WICTO or would like to join as a member-at-large, send us an email at wicto@utoronto.ca.

AZALEA UVA Co-chair

STEPHANIE SEBASTIAMPILLAI Mentorship & Outreach Coordinator

ALICIA BATTAGLIA Co-chair

ALEX GABBEY Secretary HARRISON MILLS Treasurer

ELYSE HUDSON UTM Campus Representative

ABBEY CLAPPERTON Events Coordinator

TAYLOR WU Seminar Series Coordinator

VALERIA MOROZOVA UTSc Campus Representative

ANGELA LIN Media Relations Coordinator

“

Promoting equity, diversity, and community through awareness,

From Women in Chemistry To ronto W I C T O

Initial aim was to promote gender diversity in chemistry community.

WICTO MISSION to

MISSION STATEMENT

and inclusion within the chemistry awareness, engagement, and advocacy.

Working towards

Inclusivity

in

Chemistry

The evolution 02 The evolution 02

CWIC Network: Women in Chemistry

Toronto Chapter founded.

First Person of Influence post.

On Dr. Marie SklodowskaCurie

Start of undergraduate-graduate mentorship program.

Start of journal club.

Elementary school outreach programs.

Start of blog posts on website. 2018

Check out wicto.ca!

WICTO week: Professional development events spanning a week.

2015 WICTO team

evolution of WICTO evolution of WICTO

Expansion to include representative from UTM and UTSc campuses.

Name change to Working towards Inclusivity in Chemistry.

First LGBTQ+ sticker campaign.

Successfully raised over $1200 for The 519!

Collaboration with CHM3000 course for professional development events.

Second sticker campaign raises over $600 for Visions of Science.

First WICTO Symposium: Connecting through Chemistry.

WHAT IS OUR JOURNAL CLUB?

Each month, WICTO selects a journal article pertaining to topics of EDI, mental health, teaching, mentorship or graduate student life. To incite discussion amongst the chemistry community and share ideas on how to improve our environment for undergraduate, graduate, post-docs, and faculty.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?

THE EVOLVING FORMAT OF JOURNAL CLUB

FIRST EDITION

A WICTO member would present a summary powerpoint presentation on an article of interest, followed by an in-person discussion amongst WICTO members.

Drawback: limited audience, primarily WICTO members.

SECOND EDITION

An asynchronous journal club on Yammer, a workplace communication tool so that a larger audience can be reached. A WICTO member selected a journal article and created a list with discussion points to be posted on Yammer.

Drawback: Yammer not commonly used by community.

THIRD AND CURRENT EDITION

A WICTO member selects a journal article and creates an interative presentation with time given for discussion in small groups. Our March journal club will center around mental health and include mental health therapy dogs!

INITIATIVES & EVENTS

SEMINAR SERIES

Our Seminar Series strives to showcase successful and accomplished people of diverse backgrounds from both academia and industry. Various speakers from around the globe give hour-long talks in Lash Miller Chemical Laboratories at the University of Toronto to inspire, inform, and motivate students. Speakers often give a 1-hour research talk and participate in a round-table event to discuss their personal experience in S.T.E.M.

SPEAKERS FROM THIS ACADEMIC YEAR

Reasearch: Strategies to fabricate defined protein glycoconjugates and the study of interactions between glycoproteins and glycan-binding proteins in cells.

Reasearch: Rare-earth metal-organic frameworks and their potential applications in pollution remediation, catalysis, and chemical sensing.

PROF. MIA HUANG Associate Professor, Scripps Research

PROF. ASHLEE HOWARTH Assistant Professor and Concordia University Research Chair, Concordia University

INITIATIVES & EVENTS Mentorship

What is the mentorship program?

A sense of community and support from peers is vital to person’s mentorship program started in 2016 focuses on connecting upper field of chemistry of their interest. The value of this connection is for the reasons listed below and supported by testimonials from

The value of the mentorship program

For graduate mentors

• A chance to develop leadership and professional skills.

• Gain experience in advising students interested in your field

• Hone interpersonal skills.

Testimonials

Most beneficial aspect?

“Being able to reflect on your own experience and understand the pros/cons of each decision made.”

“Meeting my mentor in an initial formal sense and then building relationship through the prompts given by WICTO helped me build a more personal one. His insight has been invaluable and I am grateful that I was able to meet him through this program.”

“Having done my second and third year online, it really discouraged career in science. I am grateful that I was able to meet my mentor do to meet the goals I want to achieve.”

Mentorship Program

person’s development, both personally and professionally. The annual upper year undergraduate students with graduate students in a is felt by both the graduate mentor and undergraduate mentee from previous participants.

For undergraduate mentees

• Learn from a diverse set of mentors about pursuing higher education in science.

• Be supported in your personal and professional goals and receive tailored advice to your situation.

“I learned how to be a better listener.”

“Cultivating a relationship with a person that is earlier in their studies. This requires you to understand issues/challenges from their perspective.”

building a build

discouraged me from taking any palpable steps towards furthering my mentor in this program and have guidance in what I could possibly

“Just having someone to run ideas past and have some reassurance that I am on the right path and I am in the right headspace. My mentor really made me feel like I am doing okay which really helped me build confidence.”

03 INITIATIVES

STICKER CAMPAIGNS

The simple act of someone having a sticker in a visible place can make people feel immediately more welcome and included - this is the motivation behind WICTO’s sticker campaign. A portion of proceeds go to charity based on cause for that year chosen by WICTO members.

FIRST CAMPAIGN 2021SECOND CAMPAIGN 2022

Charity: The 519

Over $1200 raised.

Expanded to include magnets.

Charity: Visions of Science

Over $600 raised.

GLOBAL WOMEN’S BREAKFAST

Annually since 2019, IUPAC has hosted the Global Women’s Breakfast to celebrate women in science, build a global network to close the gender gap in science, inspire younger generations, and support professional development of women in science.

There is a different theme every but it is always centered around gender equity in science. WICTO proudly participated every year hosting our own event for the Department of Chemistry at all of our tri-campus locations.

&

EVENTS

WICTO Symposium: Connecting through Chemistry

On November 19th, 2022, WICTO hosted its inaugural professional development symposium. More than 70 participants, including undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs from the Chemistry department across all three campuses (St. George, UTM, and UTSC) participated in the event.

BREAKFAST

Women’s network generations, science.

people behind on the every year, around WICTO has year by the UofT all three

This free event comprised of workshops tailored for both graduate and undergraduate students, graduate student flash talks, a alumni career panel, and a networking session.

WICTO is grateful to the Student Initiative Fund, the Faculty of Arts & Science Milestones & Pathways grant, and the Department of Chemistry for their support in funding our event

PHOTOGRAPH OF SYMPOSIUM PLANNING TEAM

PHOTOGRAPH OF ALUMNI PANEL PHOTOGRAPH OF GRAD SCHOOL DISCUSSION

PHOTOGRAPH OF EVENT INTRODUCTION

04.POI PERSON OF INFLUENCE

Dr. Marie Maynard Daly

Marie Maynard Daly was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry in the United States. Throughout her career, Daly had to overcome the dual hurdles of racial and gender bias, and therefore became a strong advocate for increasing the representation of minorities in the sciences. In 1988, she began a scholarship for African American chemistry and physics majors at Queens College in memory of her father, who never completed his degree in chemistry due to financial constraints.

Prof. Carolyn R. Bertozzi

Prof. Bertozzi is a Professor at Stanford and one of this year’s recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, known for her wide-ranging work spanning both chemistry and biology. She invented the field of “bioorthogonal chemistry,” which allows researchers to chemically modify molecules within living systems. This approach is now used to study molecules such as proteins, DNA, and RNA in live cells, and has the potential utility as a drug delivery system for cancer therapeutics.

Every month, WICTO selects someone influential in S.T.E.M. (past or present) to highlight their contributions to the field. It is a great opportunity to become informed about different areas of research as well as inspire fellow colleagues to continue pursuing their goals, regardless of the hardships and obstacles many marginalized people face in the workforce.

Dr. Marie Skłodowska-Curie

Marie Skłodowska-Curie is notably one of the most well-known female scientists. She was a Polish-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research in the field of radioactivity. Her passion for the field lead her to develop the theory of radioactivity, to create novel techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and to the discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium.

Mme. Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1911. This made her the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize and the only woman to receive this prestigious award twice.

PHOTOGRAPH BY BETTMANN / GETTY IMAGES

05 FUTURE INITIATIVES & EVENTS

As a team dedicated to improving the chemistry community for all those in it, WICTO is constantly thinking of ways to improve our current initiatives and events based on the invaluable feedback received from participants.

FOR THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

• Increased networking and community building events both inside and outside of UofT

• Professional development workshops

• “Tri-mentor pairings” between an undergraduate, lower year graduate student, and an upper year level graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or professor

FOR WICTO SYMPOSIUM

• Increased diversity in alumni career panelists

• A systematic mingling session and/or poster session • Interactive session between graduate and undergraduate students

FOR THE STICKER CAMPAIGN

Inclusion of previous popular designs in current campaign

• Continuous selling of stickers and magnets vs. only selling for a set period of time

FOR GLOBAL WOMEN’S BREAKFAST

• Interactive networking session during event

• Invite a speaker related to the theme of the year

FOR WINE & CHEESE EVENT

Previously a social event that focuses on bringing the community together. For the 2023 event, the idea is to expand past a casual social event (e.g. collaborative mural, speed networking, art exhibit).

WE’D LOVE TO SEE YOU AT OUR EVENTS

AND/OR MEETINGS!