Welcome to ROZ: the “Rosalind Franklin Forum for Female Scientists, Open to All”
Source: https://www.rozforum.org
Here, we introduce our readers to ROZ, an interactive career advisory platform that offers a global network of mentors and other tools to help advance scientists’ careers and promote diversity.
By Paola Laurino with Patricia A. Maurice and Janet G. Hering
10 June 2025, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15536548
Founded in 2022, ROZ [1] is an interactive career advisory platform, designed to support scientists at critical career stages. Originally created to serve graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty worldwide, ROZ offers a unique space to ask questions and seek advice about scientific career development.
Whether you're looking for career advice, writing support, or motivational resources, ROZ serves as your all-in-one platform for scientific advancement at every career stage. ROZ also offers a unique and innovative resource for designing and assessing DEI programs, the ROZ DEI Designer.
How would you describe the key aspects of your initiative?
ROZ offers young researchers an unparalleled suite of resources to navigate academia successfully. At its heart is our global network of distinguished mentors—including Nobel laureates—representing diverse scientific fields from every continent. These experts provide personalized career guidance through our interactive platform.
Beyond one-on-one advice, ROZ equips researchers with practical tools for professional development. Anatomy of a Research Report offers templates and step-by-step guides for various types of communication from fellowship applications to research proposals and scientific articles and literature reviews as well as Science Slam presentations and newspaper columns. Posters featuring encouraging messages from ROZ supporters can be downloaded from the Printable Posters page. Rosalind Jr. is our specially curated science book sparking curiosity in school students. The page Soft Skills in Science is currently under development but will offer game-format practice in strategic, organizational, and interpersonal skills specific to academic careers.
A particularly innovative and original initiative is the ROZ DEI Designer, which offers best practice guidelines for the design and assessment of diversity programs. The DEI Designer is based on an extensive evidence base comprising over 3,000 peer-reviewed articles and provides specific recommendations to achieve optimal outcomes. This allows DEI project and program staff to gauge their own effectiveness based on five criteria: (1) end user reach, (2) universal accessibility, (3) expert practitioner accessibility, (4) longevity and (5) scalability. The score is easy to calculate, and interactive examples help to improve the program.
How did you launch your initiative?
ROZ was initiated at the Science Summit during the 77th United Nations General Assembly in September 2022 [2]. At this venue, academics from different career stages—from graduate student to an Institute Director—engaged in interactive discussions about professional development. As we mentioned in an 2023 interview, this discussion led rapidly to a wide range of suggestions for services that ROZ might provide [3]. As the more junior of two co-founders, I drew from my own experiences of doubt, unanswered questions and uncertainty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. I was promoted to Associate Professor in 2022, the same year that ROZ was founded. I was delighted at the willingness of senior women in STEM to provide responses to questions posted on the ROZ website.
How do you keep your initiative going?
ROZ was initially hosted by my university, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, which also supported my engagement with ROZ. ROZ’s co-founder, Prof. em. Moni Hamolsky, has been indefatigable in her work as ROZ's originator, organizer, designer, and administrator. We are both very grateful to the individuals who have stepped forward in times of greatest need. Since all this work is done on a volunteer basis, we are able to keep ROZ free to students, schools and colleges.
What are the main accomplishments of your initiative thus far?
We are proud of all the tools and services that the ROZ platform offers, especially the DEI Designer. We have also recently launched the R-Award for "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity in Science 2025", which exemplifies our commitment to fostering inclusive excellence in the life sciences.
This €1000 award celebrates individuals and groups driving transformative outreach efforts, particularly those amplifying underrepresented voices in STEM. Selected awardees will be announced on July 3, 2025, at BioTrans (the 17th International Symposium on Biocatalysis and Biotransformations) in Basel, Switzerland, offering global visibility among scientific leaders [4].
The R-Award reflects our core mission in action: to recognize initiatives that break barriers in science accessibility, bridge local and international scientific communities, and empower future generations through direct support. While ROZ has consistently connected researchers with mentorship and resources, the R-Award marks our most ambitious effort yet to catalyze systemic change in equity and representation across the sciences.
What do you see as the future of your initiative?
We envision ROZ becoming the globally recognized standard for equitable career development in science – where every major academic institution worldwide actively recommends our platform to students, researchers, and faculty as an essential professional resource. Our aspiration extends beyond academia, with international industry leaders and scientific organizations formally endorsing ROZ as a catalyst for inclusive excellence.
How should readers contact you if they want to participate in or support your initiative?
There is a contact form on our website at: https://www.rozforum.org/contact. We are also present on social media, including bluesky [5].
Conclusions and questions for further thought
Thank you for helping our readers learn about and understand your exciting programs at ROZ. We look forward to hearing about the first R-Awards celebration. We encourage senior women leaders in STEM to contact you about potentially serving as mentors or otherwise helping ROZ to attain its ambitious and highly worthwhile goals.
Here are some questions for readers to consider:
· Have you served as a ROZ mentor? If so, what was the experience like?
· Have you checked out the DEI Designer? If so, do you have any suggestions for further improvement?
· How can you help spread the word about the programs and resources available through ROZ?
References and notes:
[1] Rosalind Franklin Forum for Female Scientists, Open to All, https://www.rozforum.org/ (accessed 14 May 2025).
[2] This event was originally advertised at: https://globalyoungacademy.net/events/science-summit-at-the-77th-united-nations-general-assembly/#:~:text=The%20session%20will%20take%20place,and%20equity%20at%20the%20GYA (accessed 15 May 2025).
[3] Esposito, D. (2023) Helping hands. Nature Catalysis 6 : 649–650, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-023-00991-8.