14th edition of the L'Oréal Women in 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 of L'Oréal Portugal in partnership with the UNESCO National Commission and the FCT and is supported by Ciência Viva. The medals were awarded at a ceremony held on March 21 at the Pavilion of Knowledge.

This prize is awarded annually, has a unit value of €15,000 and is aimed at young Portuguese female scientists with a PhD, aged up to 35, who are carrying out research in Portugal and conducting original studies relevant to health and/or the environment. Established in 2004, the prize aims to motivate and support young scientists to continue with their projects and has so far honored 45 researchers in Portugal. This year, more than 70 young Portuguese scientists submitted their projects to the Call which was assessed by a scientific jury chaired by Alexandre Quintanilha.

About the award-winning researchers:

Carina Crucho, from the Instituto Superior Técnico, is trying to develop an antibiotic distribution and controlled release system that combines antibiotics with nanotechnology in order to achieve a higher local concentration of antibiotics, boosting their therapeutic effect and avoiding the need for ever higher dosages. 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 fighting 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 post-doctoral researcher funded by the 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 for the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), is carrying out a study that, for the first time, analyzes climatic, marine and terrestrial indicators in marine sediments from the Iberian Peninsula 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 rainfall, fires) and to assess their impact on the ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula and the east coast of the USA. This will also provide essential information for future climate forecasting and modeling, as well as for defining an efficient and economically sustainable environmental policy.

Dulce Oliveira holds a PhD in the field of Marine Geology and Paleoclimate (2017). She has been involved with several institutions, such as: EPHE-University of Paris PSL, Centro de Ciências do Mar-Universidade do Algarve, Instituto Dom Luiz-Universidade de Lisboa and EPOC-University of Bordeaux, the institution that awarded her the degree. He was then awarded a post-doctoral contract in the area of Paleoclimate, also at the University of Bordeaux. This year, she was awarded a research Studentship 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 she 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 importance of this cycle in the survival, virulence and transmission of Plasmodium and a deeper understanding of 'parasite-host' interactions at all stages of its development will enable the study of new strategies to combat the disease. This study will also make it possible to identify a universal therapeutic target for all stages of the parasite's life.

In 2008, the researcher began her PhD at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, having carried out the research project at the Cell Cycle Regulation Laboratory. In 2012 she defended her doctoral thesis and in 2014 she began a post-doctoral project at the Institute of Molecular Medicine in a new area of research, parasitology.

Margarida Fernandes, from the Physics Center/Biological Engineering Center at 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 cellular 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 natural regeneration capacity of the patient's tissues, will contribute to the treatment of bone injuries and diseases that affect thousands of people around the world.

He completed his doctorate in the Department of Textile Engineering at the University of Minho, in the area of Materials Science/Biotechnology. She completed her first post-doctorate in Spain, at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, in the Chemical Engineering Department. He is currently doing research in Portugal, in 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".