14th Edition of the L'Oréal Women for Science Medals

Researchers Carina Crucho, Dulce Oliveira, Inês Bento and Margarida Fernandes were the winners of the 14th edition of the L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science. THE Call is an initiative by L'Oréal Portugal in partnership with the National Commission of UNESCO and FCT and has the support of Ciência Viva. The medals were awarded at a ceremony that took place on March 21, at the Pavilhão do Conhecimento.

This award is given annually, has a unit value of €15,000 and is aimed at young Portuguese female scientists with a PhD, aged up to 35, who carry out research in Portugal and carry out original and relevant studies for health and/or the environment. Established in 2004, the award aims to motivate and support young scientists to continue with their projects, having so far distinguished 45 researchers in Portugal. This year, more than 70 young Portuguese scientists submitted their projects to Call , evaluated by a scientific jury chaired by Alexandre Quintanilha.

About the awarded researchers:

Carina Crucho, from Instituto Superior Técnico, is seeking to develop a system for the distribution and controlled release of antibiotics, which combines antibiotics with nanotechnology with the aim of achieving a greater local concentration of antibiotics, to enhance their therapeutic effect and avoid the need for increasingly higher doses. This study could help overcome the ineffectiveness of conventional antibiotics or even give them a new lease of life, contributing to the development of a new generation of nanoparticles that are more efficient in combating resistant bacteria. With a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the Faculty of Science and Technology of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Carina Corucho is currently a postdoctoral researcher funded by FCT at the Instituto Superior Técnico, where she is developing the project “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down: mesoporous silica glyconanoparticles for theranostics”.

Dulce Oliveira, from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), is carrying out a study that, for the first time, analyzes climate, marine and terrestrial indicators in marine sediments from the Iberian margin and the east coast of the USA. This analysis makes it possible to understand the mechanisms that are naturally associated with climate extremes (drought, heavy rains, fires) and assess their impact on the ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula and the east coast of the USA. In this way, it will also be possible to have essential information for climate forecasting and modeling in the future, as well as for defining an efficient and economically sustainable environmental policy.

With a PhD in the area of Sciences and Environment, in the field of Marine Geology and Paleoclimate (2017), Dulce Oliveira has been linked to several institutions, such as: EPHE-PSL University of Paris, Center of Marine Sciences-University of Algarve, Dom Luiz Institute-University of Lisbon and EPOC-University of Bordeaux, the institution that awarded her the degree. He then received a postdoctoral contract in the field of Paleoclimate, also at the University of Bordeaux. This year, he won a Studentship research in the area of Marine Geology – Paleoclimate & Marine Palynology, in the ULTImATum project “Understanding past climatic instabilities in the North Atlantic Region”, which is funded by FCT and with which he applied for the L’Oréal awards.

Inês Bento, from the Institute of Molecular Medicine, through her project, aims to identify one of the conserved mechanisms of the malaria parasite: the existence of a circadian cycle, which allows this intracellular parasite to control time, anticipate and adapt to cyclical and predictable changes in its environment. Understanding the relevance of this cycle in the survival, virulence and transmission of Plasmodium and a deeper understanding of the 'parasite-host' interactions in all phases of its development will allow the study of new strategies to combat the disease. With this study it will also be possible to identify a universal therapeutic target for all stages of the parasite's life.

In 2008, the researcher began her doctorate at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science, having developed the research project at the Cell Cycle Regulation Laboratory. In 2012 he defended his doctoral thesis and in 2014 he began a postdoctoral project at the Institute of Molecular Medicine in a new area of research, parasitology.

Margarida Fernandes, from the Physics Center/Biological Engineering Center of the University of Minho, is researching a new generation of active materials for bone tissue engineering. These materials respond to physical stimuli, such as magnetic and mechanical stresses, promoting the cell growth of osteoblasts (bone cells). The development of these tissue engineering techniques, which include the use of innovative materials to create new bone tissue by stimulating the patient's natural tissue regeneration capacity, will contribute to the treatment of bone injuries and diseases that affect thousands of people around the world.

He completed his doctorate at the Department of Textile Engineering at the University of Minho, in the area of Materials Science/Biotechnology. He completed his first postdoctoral studies in Spain, at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He is currently doing research in Portugal, at the “Electroactive Smart Materials Group” of the Physics Center/Biological Engineering Center of the University of Minho, in the project “Magnetoelectric nanocomposites as platforms for bone tissue regeneration”.