Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI)
Women in STEMM fight for the right to lead, part 1
Photo: Dr. Kristina Burrack working in a medical lab.
GOAL: As part of the client's ongoing commitment to highlighting the work their researchers are doing in the community, they are highlighting a timely award for an early-stage female researcher. Dr. Kristina Burrack is selected as part of Homeward Bound, a global year-long, women’s leadership program. This program teaches participants the confidence and leadership skills necessary to learn how to fund future research projects.
Growing up, Kristina Burrack, Ph.D., was always on the move. She was fascinated by the outdoors, loved hands-on learning, and played college athletics. Dr. Burrack loved doing science labs and knew she wanted to be a biology major in college. While at St. Olaf College, she became passionate about immunology during her undergraduate research program.
Flash forward to the present day and Dr. Burrack is a key researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Hennepin Healthcare Research Institute (HHRI) studying the immune response to malaria to identify therapies that boost immunity to the infection as well as vaccination.
Dr. Burrack’s passion and the potential of her work have landed her one of 116 spots in this year’s cohort of the Australian-based leadership program for women in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine), Homeward Bound.
Dr. Burrack is part of the current cohort, Homeward Bound 8. Team HB8 will start the global leadership program on May 1, 2023, with 100+ STEMM women of 25 different nationalities spanning 18 countries. They were selected on their leadership potential and ability to affect the future sustainability of our planet.
Homeward Bound is a year-long virtual leadership program for STEMM women at any career stage, hoping to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges like the climate crisis, poverty, gender inequality, and educational disparities. They seek to achieve this through teaching and coaching STEMM women how to become leaders in their respective fields.
And I think that’s what really neat about this Homeward Bound program is that it recognizes that some of the issues related [to] this lack of gender parity is [sic] a lack of leadership training and investment in empowering women [,] specifically to become leaders. And not just leaders on their own, but leaders who work collaboratively and intentionally to be inclusive and supportive. And one word that I liked that Homeward Bound uses a lot is ‘legacy minded’… [In other words] how can we think about the impact that we have on everyone around us?”
As an emerging leader, Dr. Burrack is looking forward to learning from women worldwide who have experiences and knowledge from all walks of life. She hopes to build her confidence, learn how to better navigate conflict and tough conversations in high-stakes relationships, and grow her leadership abilities.
THIS IS A SNIPPET OF THE ORIGINAL, READ THE ARTICLE IN ITS ENTIRETY HERE.