Marquis Who's Who Takes a Fresh Look at STEM to Recognize American Influencers and Innovators for the May Installment of the Maker's List

Marquis also recognizes Asian American and Pacific Island Americans of influence in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month

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May 03, 2021, 14:50 ET

UNIONDALE, N.Y., May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Marquis Who's Who (MWW), the world's leading biographical publisher, has released the May edition of the Maker's List to recognize Influencers and Innovators in STEM. For this month's list, MWW has reimagined the traditional definition of STEM to highlight Science, Technology, Education and Medicine. The Maker's List features some of the most influential individuals in their respective fields, selected from thousands of professionals across the country. Spearheaded by Erica Lee, CEO of MWW and Star Jones, award-winning media personality, women's and diversity advocate and executive editor of the MWW Maker's Lists, the selection committee assembled May's list to spotlight those who have achieved significant advancement, accomplishment and acumen within the fields of science, technology, education and medicine.

"For May, we wanted to spotlight the doctors, researchers, engineers and educators that have continued to go above and beyond the call of duty throughout this challenging year," said CEO Erica Lee. "This year has seen such unprecedented advancements in science and medicine, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, and we would be remiss to not recognize those who are breaking barriers in STEM."

"Innovations in the fields of science, technology, education and medicine have positively impacted nearly every aspect of our world today, and the potential for significant advancement grows, in part, by the diversity of backgrounds and thought at the table," said Star Jones, executive editor of the MWW Maker's Lists. "In our version of STEM, we recognize the influencers and innovators in the fields that have dominated the front burner conversations this past year. Our STEM Maker's list represents the diverse, collective imagination of these fields and the immeasurable potential these Makers have to change our lives for the better."

Monthly MWW lists are curated by executive editor, Star Jones with an aim to bring into focus the outstanding thought leaders and change-makers across significant industries. Thus far, MWW has released the Thought Leaders list in January, Catalysts for Change for Black History Month in February, the Women Luminaries list for Women's History Month in March and the Market Maker's list, highlighting those in business and finance for April. The Marquis Maker's List selection committee is comprised of 13 diverse professionals from a variety of backgrounds in publishing, entertainment, law, business, journalism, marketing, graphic design, public relations and print media.

Selected honorees for the Influencers and Innovators in STEM list include:

Ayanna Howard, PhD: Dr. Howard is a roboticist, entrepreneur and educator, and the first woman to serve as the dean of the College of Engineering at Ohio State University. She has been recognized as one of the 'Most Powerful Women Engineers' by Business Insider and is included in America's Top 50 Women in Tech by Forbes.
Barney Graham, MD, PhD: Dr. Graham is the deputy director of the Vaccine Research Center and the chief of the Viral Pathogenesis Laboratory. His laboratory partnered with Moderna to develop the vaccine technology to combat COVID-19. During his research, he found that some virus proteins change shape after they enter into a person's cells, and this discovery led to the creation of a better vaccine.
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD: Dr. Nestler is a member of the Hope for Depression Research Foundation's Task Force and a Nash Family Professor of Neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He serves as chair of the Department of Neuroscience and director of the Friedman Brain Institute. The goal of Dr. Nestler's research is to better understand the molecular mechanisms of addiction and depression based on work in animal models, using this information to develop improved medical treatments.
Kizzmekia "Kizzy" Shanta Corbett, PhD: Dr. Corbett is an American viral immunologist at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. She served as a key player in the development of the Moderna mRNA vaccine and the Eli Lilly therapeutic monoclonal antibody treatment, which were the first to enter clinical trials in the U.S.
Mark Feinberg, MD, PhD: Dr. Feinberg is president and CEO of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which is working alongside the Scripps Research Institute on creating a vaccine for HIV based on the mRNA discoveries in Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine.
Martha S. Jones: Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, professor of history, and a professor at the SNF Agora Institute at The Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of "Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All," published 2020 and selected as one of Time's 100 must-read books. Jones is at the forefront of re-establishing a more prominent emphasis on Black women throughout American historical studies.
Michelle Egger: Egger is the co-founder and CEO of BIOMILQ, a startup that creates formula breastmilk, which has the same nutritional benefits as regular breastmilk through the culture of human mammary cells. BIOMILQ has raised $3.5 million for its patented technology that enables families a wider range of options for sustainable feeding for newborns.
Nancy Brown: Brown is the chief executive officer of the American Heart Association (AHA). The Association works tirelessly to help people achieve longer, healthier lives and equitable health care in the U.S. and around the world. Under Brown's leadership since 2008, the Association established the first-ever definition of "cardiovascular health" and just announced its bold 2030 global aspiration: "Together with global and local collaborators, we will equitably increase worldwide healthy life expectancy from 64 to at least 67, by 2030."
Reshma Saujani: Saujani is the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit that works to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does. Girls Who Code has reached more than 500 million people throughout the world and 450,000 girls through its in-person programming.
Roni and Oren Frank: The Franks are married co-founders of Talkspace, an app that began as a group therapy platform, but evolved into a company that offers online psychotherapy from licensed therapists. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has seen a significant uptick in the demand for psychotherapy and even offered a free month of therapy services to medical workers.
Wendy Kopp: Kopp is the CEO and co-founder of Teach for All, a global network of independent organizations working to develop collective leadership to ensure all children have the opportunity to fulfill their potential. She is also the founder of Teach for America, which has been a successful source of long-term leadership for expanding opportunities for children in the U.S. for 24 years.

In addition to the Influencers and Innovators in STEM list, MWW has also released the Asian American and Pacific Island Americans of Influence list to celebrate millions of immigrants who take part in Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In the wake of anti-Asian sentiment and violence in the United States directed at those of Asian heritage, MWW made selections based on the significant social, cultural, educational and technological impact they have on American society.

Honorees include:

Aarti Kohli: Kohli is the executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, the first organization in the country to represent and promote the legal and civil rights of API communities. She has led the organization through significant growth from a $2.5 to $8 million annual budget.
Angela Hwang: Hwang is the group president of the Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group, where she organizes 26,000 colleagues and is responsible for bringing more than 600 innovative medicines and products to patients. In 2020, more than 420 million people benefited from a Pfizer Biopharma medicine or vaccine to improve their health or save their lives.
Christopher Rim: Rim is the founder and CEO of Command Education, a premier education and admissions consultancy headquartered in New York City that works to spark curiosity in students and provide them with the opportunity to develop their passions and successfully navigate the college application process. In 2019, People Magazine called Command Education the "nation's leader in college admissions consulting."
Eric S. Yuan: Yuan is the CEO and founder of Zoom Video Communications. In 2019, Zoom became a public company and Yuan became a billionaire. Yuan's wealth has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, as Zoom has been an instrumental tool in the adoption of remote work by many businesses and school systems. He was named Time Magazine's 2020 Businessperson of the Year and featured in Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
Kristina Wong: Wong is a performance artist, comedian and writer, bringing attention to anti-Asian racism and campaigns for essential services for the homeless. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has led more than 600 volunteers to make and distribute thousands of homemade masks to frontline workers and vulnerable populations through the Auntie Sewing Squad. She is also the creator of Radical Cram School, an award-winning digital series featuring lessons and conversations with Asian American youth to explore Asian American history and identity.

The full Influencers and Innovators in STEM list is organized alphabetically below by first name:

Aaron J. Buckland, MD
Amanda Lefton
Angel Rich
Anthony S. Fauci, MD
Ayanna Howard, PhD
Barney Graham, MD, PhD
Betsy Congdon
Betty A. Rosa, EdD
Bill Nelson
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, PhD
Christopher Emdin, PhD
Cornel West, PhD
David S. Johnson, PhD, MBA
Doug Melton, PhD
Drew Weissman, MD, PhD
Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD
G. Byron Brooks, EE, MD and Michael Gorton
Jean Desravines
Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD
Jill Biden, EdD
Joe English
Kathryn Finney
Kimberly Bryant
Kizzmekia "Kizzy" Corbett, PhD
Lawrence Richard Glassman, MD
Leah Juelke
Lloyd H. Dean
Mark Feinberg, MD, PhD
Martha S. Jones
Melissa Connelly
Meredith Whittaker
Michael S. Regan
Michael S. Snyder, MD
Michelle Egger
Michio Kaku
Miguel Cardona, EdD
Mike Shannon
Nancy Brown
Nevan Krogan, PhD
Nina Tandon, PhD
Rachel Levine, MD
Ramon Tallaj, MD
Rebecca "Becky" Pringle
Regina "Gina" McCarthy
Reginald Ware
Reshma Saujani
Rochelle Walensky, MD
Rodney Robinson
Roni and Oren Frank
Salman Khan
Shirley Ann Jackson, PhD
Steve Jurczyk
Susan R. Bailey, MD
Tim Canham
Tim Cook
Ursula Burns
Vivek Murthy, MD
Wadiya "Diya" Wynn
Wendy Kopp
Xavier Becerra

The full Asian American and Pacific Island Americans of Influence list is organized alphabetically below by first name:

Aarti Kohli
Amanda N. Nguyen
Amy Tan
Ana Iwataki and Miya Iwataki
Anderson .Paak
Andrea Jung
Andrew Yang
Angela Hwang
Anita Lo
Awkwafina (Nora Lum)
Chanel Miller
Chrissy Teigen
Christine Sun Kim
Christopher Rim
Cynthia Choi
David D. Ho, MD
David Miyashiro
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Ellen K. Pao
Eric Thich Vi Ly
Eric S. Yuan
Erika Lee
Frank H. Wu
Huge Ma
Jeannie Mai
Jeremy Shu-How Lin
Jerry Yang
Jon M. Chu
Justin Kan
Kamala Harris
Kristina Wong
Ladda Tammy Duckworth
Lisa Ling
Lucy Liu
Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke
Mazie Hirono
Mia Mingus
Michelle Au, MD, MPH
Padma Lakshmi
Perry Chen
Reshma Saujani
Ro Khanna
Roy Choi
Russell Jeung, PhD
Satya Nadella
Steve Aoki
Stewart Kwoh
Sumita Mitra, PhD
Taylor Rapp
Christina Tchen

About Marquis Who's Who®
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the first edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion, and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians, and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® publications may be visited via the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.

About the Marquis Maker's Lists
The Marquis Maker's Lists seek to highlight, celebrate and recognize those people whose ideas, philosophies, positions, example or standards, talents, gifts or aptitude, discoveries, innovations or breakthroughs have the ability to influence, affect and transform. The selection committee for the Marquis Maker's Lists is comprised of 13 diverse professionals from a variety of backgrounds in publishing, entertainment, law, business, journalism, marketing, graphic design, public relations, and print media. Committee members conduct extensive independent research and analyses to vet candidates relevant to each month's Maker's List theme. The committee meets routinely to thoughtfully dialogue through individual nominations to determine eligibility for inclusion. Thereafter, a thorough and objective ranking system is utilized and applied by the committee and tabulated by the executive director to confirm, authenticate and finalize each list.

SOURCE Marquis Who's Who