For Women in Science 2018 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science awards
Paris, November 13th 2017 – The L‘Oréal Foundation and UNESCO announce the names of five outstanding women scientists who will receive the 2018 L‘Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards in life sciences on March 22nd 2018 in Paris.
THE 2018 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARDS
Women are still under-represented in various fields, including Science, where the glass ceiling is still a reality. Nowadays, barely 28% of researchers are… women. In addition, all of the 9 Nobel Prizes in Science have been awarded to men in last October. Since the creation of the Nobel Prizes in Science, less than 3% have been awarded to women.
Yet, eminent women in science are numerous. For almost 20 years, the L’Oréal Foundation, in partnership with UNESCO, has celebrated each year 5 exceptional female researchers and has been committed to promote diversity between women and men in Science.
THE LAUREATES OF THE 2018 L’ORÉAL-UNESCO FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARDS
The 5 women scientists celebrated by the 2018 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards have been selected by an independent jury. This jury was comprised of ten high-profile members of the international science community, chaired this year by Professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Laureate of the 2008 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award and of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009.
Each Laureate will receive €100,000 in prize money for her outstanding contribution to advances in science. They will be celebrated in a ceremony that will be held on March 22nd 2018 in Paris, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme.
AFRICA AND ARAB STATES
Professor Heather ZAR - South Africa
Professor, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital
Director Medical Research Council Unit (MRC), University of Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Medicine and Health Sciences/Pediatrics
“For establishing a cutting-edge research program in pneumonia, tuberculosis and asthma, saving the lives of many children worldwide.”
ASIA / PACIFIC
Professor Meemann CHANG - China
Professor, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, CHINA
Biological Sciences/Paleontology
“For her pioneering work on fossil records leading to insights on how aquatic vertebrates adapted to live on land.”
EUROPE
Professor Caroline DEAN - United Kingdom
Professor, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, UK
Biological Sciences/Molecular biology
“For her groundbreaking research on how plants adapt to their surroundings and climate change, leading to new ways for crop improvement.”
LATIN AMERICA
Professor Amy T. AUSTIN - Argentina
Professor, Agricultural Plant Physiology and Ecology Research Institute (IFEVA) - CONICET, School of Agriculture, University of Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
Ecology and Environmental sciences
“For her remarkable contributions to understanding terrestrial ecosystem ecology in natural and human-modified landscapes.”
NORTH AMERICA
Professor Janet ROSSANT - Canada
Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, CANADA
University Professor, University of Toronto, CANADA
President, Gairdner Foundation, CANADA
Biological Sciences/Developmental biology
“For her outstanding research that helped us to better understand how tissues and organs are formed in the developing embryo.”
CONTACTS
L’Oréal Foundation
Ludivine DESMONTS-MORNET / [email protected] / +33 (0)6 10 57 41 74
Alix BONNET / [email protected] / +33 (0)6 99 45 86 45