Beyond bias: applying sex and gender analysis in research

As the Elsevier Foundation’s Director, Ylann Schemm drives inclusive health and research partnerships to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals building research capacity in developing countries and tackling health inequities. She has been an integral part of the Foundation’s growth since joining as a Program Officer in 2008. In addition, Ylann is Elsevier’s Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, building on two decades of corporate relations and responsibility roles which focus on gender, ‘sound science’ and sustainability collaborations. Since 2015, she has served as the Co-Chair of Elsevier’s Gender Equity Taskforce which shapes Elsevier’s contributions to inclusive research from gender balance in editorial boards to sex and gender analysis in Research. From June 2020- June 2022, Ylann also served as the Chair of Research4Life’s Executive Council, a UN-publisher partnership to bridge access gaps for researchers and doctors in developing countries.

Agnieszka Freda is Executive Publisher and Team Lead at Elsevier STM Journals, based in Amsterdam, where she oversees a portfolio of virology and vaccinology journals and co-leads Elsevier’s workstream on scientific reproducibility and SAGER implementation. She holds a Master of Science in Biotechnology from Lodz University of Technology and has been with Elsevier since 2013. Alongside her publishing role, she is an active contributor to science communication and champions gender-responsive and reproducible research practices across Elsevier's journal portfolio and science at large.

Heisook Lee, PhD, is Chairperson of the Korea Foundation for Research Culture and Innovation (KORCI) and Professor Emeritus at Ewha Womans University, Republic of Korea. A mathematician by training, her expertise centers on science policy, inclusive AI, and integrating sex and gender dimensions into scientific research. A former Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society and presidential science advisor, she has edited major volumes including Sex, Gender, and Emerging Technology in Health Care (Springer, 2026). Her editorial and policy leadership provides essential structural and methodological rigor for advancing gender-sensitive healthcare and nursing education.

Yan Lu received her PhD in 2005 in Polymer Chemistry at Dresden University of Technology, Germany. After that, she worked first as postdoc then as research scientist in Physical Chemistry I at University of Bayreuth. Since 2009, she joined Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien and Energie (HZB) as a group leader in Colloid Chemistry. She was selected as top female researchers (W2/W3-Programme) in Helmholtz Association in 2015. She is now the head of Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage at HZB and co-director of the Helmholtz Institute for Polymers in Energy Applications Jena (HIPOLE Jena). She is also full professor at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (one of the Universities of Excellence in Germany) on Hybrid Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage and Conversion. 

Xinli Chi, Associate Professor and Master's Supervisor at the School of Psychology, Shenzhen University. Received PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Hong Kong and completed postdoctoral training at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Serves as a Committee Member of the School Psychology Professional Committee of the Chinese Psychological Society, Chair of the Mental Health Professional Committee of the Guangdong Psychological Society, and an External Psychological Expert for the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau.

Research and teaching center on the mental health and positive development of children and adolescents, including graduate instruction in Psychometrics. The program of work systematically investigates depression, anxiety, and internet and short-video addiction, with established expertise in uncovering psychological mechanisms, adapting assessment instruments to the Chinese context, and designing interventions. A defining and fast-growing strand applies sex and gender analysis to reveal how vulnerabilities, symptom trajectories, and treatment responses diverge between boys and girls - advancing the gendered innovations agenda in psychological science. Has led multiple major grants from the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Social Sciences Program, the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation, and the Guangdong Philosophy and Social Science Planning Program. Has published over 100 papers in leading national and international journals, more than 50 in Q1 journals, with over 5,300 citations and an h-index of 35. Recognized among the World's Top 2% Scientists (Elsevier and Stanford University) for two consecutive years, 2025 - 2026, and named a Top 5% Highly Cited Scholar (2025) by the China Scientific Evaluation Center for Literature and Bibliometrics (CNKI).