Leading women in science: MSU's Kerfeld & Brandizzi

Michigan State University is a national leader among universities in the number of endowed faculty positions held by women. Of the 131 endowed positions currently occupied across campus, 24.4 percent are held by women. Nine of those are in the College of Natural Science—four donor-funded positions and five MSU Foundation Professors.

Kerfeld, who came to MSU in 2013 as the John Hannah Distinguished Professor of structural bioengineering, had the opportunity to learn from a few female scientists who were frank with her about the special standards applied to women; their advice to her was to just accept that, and become a better scientist.

“Accordingly, my piece of advice to female scientists early in their careers is to do a portion of their training under the mentorship of a woman scientist,” says Kerfeld, who holds joint appointments in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the MSU-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory. Her work applies engineering approaches to living systems to create new sources of energy that could power the world in a healthy, sustainable way.

“I feel honored that MSU was confident in my ideas, and confident on the basis of my past work, to make an investment in my group,” Kerfeld says.