2024 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards Announced
TapTechNews May 29th news, according to the official news of the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the L'Oréal Foundation recently announced the five winners of the 2024 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards.
They have carried out pioneering research in the fields of life and environmental sciences, and have made significant contributions especially in responding to global public health challenges, including cancers and infectious diseases such as malaria, polio, as well as chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and epilepsy. The award ceremony was held at UNESCO's Paris headquarters on May 28th.
The award honors five outstanding women every year, and they are respectively from five major regions: Africa and Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America.
This year, the five winners of the 26th World Outstanding Women Scientists Achievement Award stood out from 350 candidates worldwide and were selected by an independent jury chaired by Professor Brigitte L. Kieffer, Research Director of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) and a member of the French Academy of Sciences. Professor Brigitte L. Kieffer is also a previous winner of this award.
Africa and Arab States: Lake - Immunology
Latin America and the Caribbean: Kowatowski - Biochemistry
North America: Jabado - Human Genetics
Europe: Almzini - Molecular Biology
Asia and the Pacific: Yan Ning - Structural Biology
According to the official comment: Professor Yan Ning, a professor at the School of Life Sciences of Tsinghua University, the director of the Shenzhen Medical Academy and the director of the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, has discovered the atomic structures of various membrane proteins that mediate the transport of ions and sugars across cell membranes, revealing the principles of transmembrane transport. Her excellent research has advanced related research on various diseases such as epilepsy and arrhythmia, and guided the treatment of pain syndromes. As an authority in this field, Dr. Yan inspires female scientists around the world, and she also strongly advocates for gender equality in research and science education. Professor Yan Ning has become the eighth Chinese scientist to win the award since its establishment.
According to TapTechNews' previous reports, in November 2022, Yan Ning announced to resign from her teaching position at Princeton University and to establish the Medical Academy in Shenzhen. On December 10, 2022, the Shenzhen Medical Academy was inaugurated, and Yan Ning became the founding director. Last November, the results of the addition of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering were officially announced, and Yan Ning was newly elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This year, on the eve of the May 1st International Labor Day, Yan Ning was awarded the National May 1st Labor Medal.