Other presenters include academics, researchers and Nobel laureate
Geneive Henry, Charles B. Degenstein Professor of Chemistry at Susquehanna University, will present at the eighth annual Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry conference.
“It is an honor to be invited to participate in the Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry conference, an initiative that plays a critical role in fostering equity and advancing the contributions of women in the field,” Henry said. “Opportunities to share both scientific research and professional experiences are essential to ensuring that a broad range of perspectives continues to shape the future of organic chemistry.”
Henry, whose message will focus on empowerment through mentorship and collaboration, is one of six women invited to speak at the event, including a cancer researcher, biotechnology scientist and Nobel laureate.
Empowering Women in Organic Chemistry was founded in 2019 to recognize, identify and retain women in the field of organic chemistry. The annual conference gives women leaders in organic chemistry the opportunity to present their scientific research and to hear career stories of how eminent women in the field have developed their careers while overcoming challenges along the way.
This year’s conference will be held in June in San Francisco, California, at Genentech, a pioneering biotechnology company that specializes in oncology, immunology, neuroscience and ophthalmology, having created groundbreaking therapies like the first targeted antibody for cancer.
Henry received her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the University of the West Indies, Mona, and completed postdoctoral training at Michigan State University and Harvard University. She was a visiting assistant professor of chemistry at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania prior to starting her independent academic career at Susquehanna University, where her primary area of research is natural product and medicinal chemistry.
Henry is a recipient of several research and service awards including the Henry McBay Outstanding Educator Award from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers. She was appointed a Council on Undergraduate Research Fellow under the 2024 CUR Fellows Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research Leadership and was a recipient of the 2020 CUR’s Chemistry Division Outstanding Mentorship Award. Other honors include the Susquehanna Valley American Chemical Society section’s Joseph Priestley Service Award, and Susquehanna University’s John C. Horn Distinguished Service Lectureship. Amongst her awards, she holds many published works, has presented her research and mentoring capabilities to a wide audience over the years, and has received a number of research-related grants, including National Science Foundation-funded Research in Undergraduate Institutions and Research Corporation for Science Advancement Cottrell Scholar awards. Currently, Henry is a member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy’s Primarily Undergraduate Institution Committee and a representative of CUR’s Chemistry Division.
