Innovation and Intellectual Property

I'm writing this week from Raleigh, NC, where I am attending the National Academy of Inventors conference. I share insights gleaned from our panel on women in STEM.

Award ceremony for receipt of the Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors medal.

Greetings from Raleigh, NC! I’m here attending the National Academy of Inventors conference, where I participated as a speaker on the panel “From vision to value: Women impacting STEM through intellectual property” and am being inducted as a new fellow of the academy! Becoming a fellow is a huge honor! Here is description from the NAI website:

The NAI Fellows Program was established to highlight academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. Election to NAI Fellow status is the highest professional distinction accorded solely to academic inventors.

The NAI Fellow program has 1,898 Fellows worldwide representing more than 300 prestigious universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes. Collectively, the Fellows hold more than 63,000 issued U.S. patents, which have generated over 13,000 licensed technologies, 3,200 companies and created more than 1 million jobs. In addition, over $3 trillion in revenue has been generated based on NAI Fellow discoveries.

Want to learn more about my patents? You can access the ones already issued in the U.S. here.

Topics discussed on our panel

Cover image for panel discussion sponsored by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at the National Academy of Inventors conference.

I was so honored to be invited by the US Patent and Trademark Office to speak on this panel with an incredible group of thought leaders in their respective fields! To learn more about the panelists, visit the USPTO event website to access their bios. Walking off the stage after the event, I was struck by how insightful this discussion was and how hopeful it left me feeling for the future of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). I thought you might be interested in a summary of the main topics discussed. Here were the questions:

Can you share your journey into STEM and what inspired you to pursue a career in this field and what pivotal moments or experiences shaped your career path in academia?

• Early exposure to science was emphasized—school activities and field trips, science fair, opportunities to apply creative solutions to problems throughout the educational journey. Mentorship and role models were also noted as being important.

What unique challenges have you faced as a woman in STEM and academia in achieving your IP and how have you overcome them?

• The challenges varied. Examples I offered included those examined in Chapter 10 of my book, The Plant Hunter, in which I describe encounters with prototypical characters such as:

  • Professor Toad: the one who doesn’t understand why you are in a place or have been invited to the table and who demeans you in effort to make you leave. Result: enhanced imposter syndrome and insecurities on whether or not you belong in STEM.

  • Professor Creeper: the sexual harasser who inappropriately gets into your personal space or says or acts on sexually threatening behavior. Result: extreme discomfort in the workplace, second guessing how you belong, instillation of fear for participating in work events in locations where future encounters may occur.

  • Professor Snake: the bully, the manipulator, the one who works to undermine you in your job. Result: Anxiety and stress leading to avoidance of work events in locations where future encounters may occur.

• Other challenges include the low rates of inclusion and success for certain groups (women and people with disabilities) in the domain of STEM entrepreneurship:

  • Only 25% of startups founded by women.

  • Women-led startups face challenges in raising venture funds. Only 2.3% of venture investments go to women.

  • People with disabilities account for only 3% of the STEM workforce.

  • Disabled founders 400 times less likely to receive venture capital for their startups.

How do you think the STEM fields and academia can become more inclusive and supportive of women and underrepresented groups?

• Create opportunities for networking and peer to peer mentorship. Advocate for women and underrepresented scientists as their mentors, allies, and sponsors.

• Provide talent with opportunities to showcase their research. Invite them as speakers to share their science, not limit inclusion to presentations on their journey or identity as underrepresented in science.

How do you see the role of women in STEM evolving over the next decade and what’s their impact on IP?

• Overall, all panelists were very optimistic about the future of women in the field not only in terms of their contributions to STEM, but also to generation of intellectual property (IP) that will fuel innovation and job creation.

What is one piece of advice you would give to women entrepreneurs interested in pursuing a career in your perspective industries?

• There were some incredible pieces of advice shared! Here are the ones that most resonated with me:

  • Fail often. If you aren’t failing, you aren’t really trying. All too often, we only see the success stories. Behind every success, there is usually a long trail of failures. Learn from both.

  • Give yourself grace. We can’t do everything perfectly. We can only do our best. Grace and self-acceptance is key.

  • You belong. Don’t let anyone lead you to believe otherwise.

  • Find ‘your people.’ Mentors are important, but peer groups are just as important, if not more so. Science can be a lonely endeavor, so be proactive and create a social network that serves to uplift one another.

  • Collaborate. Some of the best ideas come across different disciplines when people work together.

The Takeaway

I am fueled with hope from the messages delivered over the past two days. The future is definitely bright for women in STEM innovation! I have been uplifted and inspired by the genuine messages shared throughout the conference. Intellectual property is the driver of innovation, job creation, and economic growth. There is so much that has already been achieved from scientific breakthroughs to improve the lives of countless people across the globe, and I am certain that there is much more to come.

Yours in health, Dr. Quave

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Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a Guggenheim Fellow, CNN Champion for Change, Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and award-winning author of The Plant Hunter. Her day job is as professor and herbarium curator at Emory University School of Medicine, where she leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription and tax-deductible donation to her lab research.

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