Celebrating Women's History Month: Illumina Spotlights Scientist Geraldine Pittman Woods

Geraldine Pittman Woods was a neuroembryologist who dedicated much of her life to expanding opportunities for people of color in STEM and education. Here is a small piece of her story.

She briefly became a professor at Howard University after completing her PhD, but like many women of the time, Geraldine retired from her field when she married. However, she never stopped working.

She is remembered for saying, “You are never too busy to do community service.”

She was an active member of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and launched their Minority Biomedical Support and Minority Access to Research Careers programs, which have helped 20,000 students and professors by paying for tuition, supplies and equipment.

Geraldine was the first woman to head Howard University's board of trustees and served on several boards of trustees throughout her life. She was also recruited to help launch the government program, Head Start, developed to help under-resourced children enter school on an equal footing with their more privileged peers.

She was nominated for a ScientistSpotlight by Illumina employee, Brianna Scott, because of her commitment to removing barriers and expanding opportunities for people of color, bringing much needed diversity to STEM fields.

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