Three San Diego State professors were recently recognized for their achievements in a nationally recognized magazine that focuses on diversity in higher education.

The magazine, INSIGHT into Diversity, published its second annual STEM list, which honors the top 100 women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics

Environmental Public Health Associate Professor Eunha Hoh, Women’s Studies Assistant Professor Sara Giordano and Biology Professor Kelly Doran were chosen for the list among professors from Brown University, USC, Boston University and Boise State.

Doran, who has worked at SDSU for eight years, said she felt honored to be nominated.

She said she credits her students for her making the list. Doran said her work is centered around her students — encouraging them to appreciate science and the scientific process while also helping them achieve their life and career goals.  

Currently, she is focusing on a project close to her heart. Doran’s sister struggled with meningitis as a newborn and ultimately died from it. This motivated Doran to begin researching how our bodies fight infections like meningitis.

“I have a personal attachment to how pathogens cause meningitis with the goal of creating preventative therapies,” Doran said.

Through these studies, Doran explores the central nervous system, particularly focusing on the bacteria that penetrate the blood-brain barrier, according to her website.

She said she hopes to identify the genes “responsible for cellular invasion, and to characterize the host innate immune response to infection.”