Since 2013, Missouri Cures Education Foundation has brought WISER events to St. Joe, Springfield, Kansas City, Columbia, and St. Louis. WISER events highlight women excelling in science, technology, research, business, and innovation and provide women an opportunity to network and learn from one another.

Our WISER events are designed to showcase Missouri’s leading women in science, business, and technology. The Missouri Cures WISER team partners with innovation centers and chambers of commerce around the state to host events throughout the year so we can bring a special focus on women leaders in our field.

With a program centered on thought leadership, medical innovation and research, and entrepreneurial vision, our WISER events highlight influential researchers, WISER women, and community leaders who are actively promoting women in STEM, and who are sponsoring women entrepreneurs that are uplifting the Missouri economy.

This Month’s Featured WISER Woman

Dr. Randi Foraker, Director of the Center for Population Health Informatics at the Institute for Informatics and Associate Professor of General Medical Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Dr. Randi Foraker is the Director of the Center for Population Health Informatics at the Institute for Informatics and an Associate Professor of General Medical Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Foraker also serves as Director of the Public Health Data and Training Center for the Institute for Public Health where she is focused on applying epidemiology and informatics techniques to solve problems in the population health domain. Dr. Foraker specializes in the design of population-based studies and the integration of electronic health record data with socioeconomic indicators and is well recognized in the field of cardiovascular disease epidemiology. Her recent research has focused on the application of clinical decision support to complement risk scoring in primary care, cardiology, and oncology. Learn more about her work. 

Previous Featured WISER Woman

June 2019

Bettina Drake, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in the Division of Public Health Sciences.

Bettina Drake, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in the Division of Public Health Sciences. Dr. Drake is focused on researching risk factors and identifying strategies to promote health equity. Her community-based work has focused on promoting cancer education and screening among high-risk and underserved populations in the St. Louis region. In addition, her work has focused on educating community members on the strengths and weaknesses of health research participation and the importance of a diverse study population to provide the move effective interventions and treatments. Learn more about her work here.

May 2019

Dr. Carolyn Henry, Dean at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

We are thrilled to present our May WISE Woman, Dr. Carolyn Henry, Dean at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Health leaders from around the world recognize Dr. Henry as an outstanding researcher, scholar and speaker. She is a leader and innovator in the growing global initiative called One Health, which recognizes that human health is linked to plants, animals and the environment. Her research interests include canine bladder, bone, and mammary cancer and comparative oncology/cancer epidemiology.

April 2019

Rachel Anderson, Director at the efactory, Missouri State University

Rachel Anderson is the Director at the efactory, an entrepreneurship and business development center that is part of Missouri State University. She is also the cofounder of Alumni Spaces, a tech startup company and the cofounder of Rosie, an organization that supports, assists and serves as an advocate network for current and prospective female founders, business owners and leaders in the Greater Springfield area. Next week, Rosie will be co-hosting our Springfield WISE Networking Breakfast. Learn more about Rachel and her incredible work.

2019 WISER Events Schedule

2018 Events Recap

2018 WISER Conference Fox2Now news story
October 26, 2018 – Featuring Dr. Jennifer Silva, Washington University Pediatric Cardiologist

ST. LOUIS, MO – Five years ago, organizers weren’t sure how many people to expect for the first WISE Conference: Women in Science and Entrepreneurship. With just a few days before this year’s event, the response has been excellent. The popular event brings together women of vision committed to helping other women find success. Business, science, and technology, just a sampling of the expertise available for those attending an ambitious networking event.

2018 WISER Around Missouri