History: I started Project W.O.R.M.S. as a Ph.D. student at Stony Brook University with funding from the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and support from Nobska Imaging. Initially, I visited local K-12 schools, bringing microscopes and the worms I study, C. elegans (hence, the acronym). I expanded the reach of this program as a postdoc at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with funding from the L'Oréal For Women in Science Program. So far, I have distributed nearly 500 pocket microscopes across North Carolina, prioritizing schools with greater proportions of students considered economically disadvantaged.

Rationale: Women have historically been underrepresented in STEM fields, and while this gap has been slowly shrinking over time [1], women are still significantly underrepresented in academia at the faculty level [2]. Some barriers to retention of women in STEM are beyond the scope of a small-scale project, such as systemic gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, as well as lack of accommodations and affordable childcare for mothers. However, other issues that can sway women from pursuing careers in STEM can be directly addressed through short-term interventions. These factors include perceived expectations of brilliance [3], underestimation of personal ability and performance [4], lower levels of confidence [5], in addition to lack of representation and role models [6], which all disproportionately affect girls and women.

Goals: By providing students with hands-on experience with microscopes and exposure to research led by women scientists, I hope to accomplish the following: 

• Foster appreciation for and interest in STEM research

• Improve students' confidence in their abilities to pursue higher education and careers in STEM

• Help students identify women scientist role models and mentors