The L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO today reveal the five exceptional laureates of the 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards, in the field of Life Sciences. They will receive their awards at a ceremony to be held on 24 March 2016 in Paris.

THE 2016 L’OREAL-UNESCO FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARDS

Nominated by more than 2,600 leading scientists, 2016’s five laureates were then selected by an independent and international jury of 13 prominent scientists in the international scientific community. This year’s President of the Jury is Professor Elizabeth H. Blackburn, 2008 Laureate L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science, 2009 joint winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the first woman Jury President in the history of the awards.

On the occasion of this 2016 Edition and for the first time in the prize’s history, the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO are proud to award a research duo. Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, a French researcher based in Germany and Professor Jennifer Doudna, from the U.S., for their collaboration in genome editing technology. This historical first demonstrates how crucial collaboration is for innovation. The growing specialization within scientific disciplines together with the increasing complexity of research motivates scientists to work together, creating a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

EUROPE

Professor Emmanuelle CHARPENTIER

Director, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, GERMANY

“For her game-changing discovery, alongside Professor Jennifer Doudna, of a versatile DNA editing technique to “rewrite” flawed genes in people and other living organisms, opening tremendous new possibilities for treating, even curing, diseases."

NORTH AMERICA

Professor Jennifer DOUDNA

Professor, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, UNITED STATES of AMERICA

“For her game-changing discovery, alongside Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, of a versatile DNA editing technique to “rewrite” flawed genes in people and other living organisms, opening tremendous new possibilities for treating, even curing, diseases.”

AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES

Professor Quarraisha ABDOOL KARIM

Professor, CAPRISA, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, SOUTH AFRICA

“For her remarkable contribution to the prevention and treatment of HIV and associated infections, greatly improving the quality of life of women in Africa.”

ASIA/PACIFIC

Professor Hualan CHEN

Professor, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, CHINA

“For her outstanding research into the biology of the bird flu virus, leading to the development and use of an effective vaccine.”

LATIN AMERICA

Professor Andrea GAMARNIK

Professor, Molecular Virology Laboratory, Fundación Instituto Leloir, CONICET, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

”For her seminal discoveries on how mosquito-borne viruses reproduce and cause human diseases, particularly Dengue Fever.”