15th edition of the “L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science”

L'Oréal announced the four winners of the 15th edition of the “L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science”, which recognized the work of Patrícia Costa Reis , pediatrician at Hospital de Santa Maria and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon; Joana Cabral , researcher at the Institute for Research in Life and Health Sciences (ICVS) at the University of Minho; Joana Caldeira , researcher at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S/INEB) at the University of Porto; and Diana Madeira , researcher at CESAM/ECOMARE at the University of Aveiro.

The four selected researchers develop advanced studies in the area of Sciences, Engineering and Technologies for Health or the Environment.

DIANA MADEIRA – CESAM/ECOMARE, University of Aveiro

With a PhD in Sustainable Chemistry, Diana Madeira seeks to understand how, over several generations, marine organisms are responding to climate change and pollution that have been increasingly putting pressure on the balance of the oceans and the life that exists in them. It also aims to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that marine invertebrates induce to respond to these environmental pressures and how these mechanisms are related to parameters such as their survival capacity and reproductive success.

JOANA CABRAL – Institute of Research in Life Sciences and Health, University of Minho

Representing the functional networks in which the healthy human brain is organized and understanding why they are altered in neurological and psychiatric patients through mathematics is the objective of the study developed by Joana Cabral, PhD in Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience. The researcher believes that mathematics, with its universal principles, will be able to provide a unifying theoretical model capable of representing the biophysical mechanisms that govern brain activity.

JOANA CALDEIRA – i3S Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, University of Porto

Joana Caldeira, PhD in Biomedicine, intends to combine the use of CRISPR gene editing technology (CRISPR/Cas9) with stem cell therapies for the regeneration of intervertebral discs that affect lower back pain. This pain affects more than 70% of the world's population, whether due to the natural aging process, various traumas or genetic predisposition. With this project, we aim to improve already promising stem cell therapies and open doors to the first regenerative therapy of the intervertebral disc based on CRISPR technology. The results obtained will create the basis for pioneering clinical trials to reverse the current reality.

PATRÍCIA COSTA REIS – Institute of Molecular Medicine/ Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon/ Hospital of Santa Maria

Physician and Researcher Patrícia Costa Reis dedicated her doctorate to the study of Lupus. With this work, the aim is to understand whether patients with Lupus have greater intestinal permeability, which may be responsible for the passage of bacteria present there into the bloodstream and, thus, contribute to the chronic activation of the immune system. This project could lay the necessary foundations for new therapeutic strategies, such as antibiotics or vaccines that alter the microbiome, and thus control the immune system and disease activity.

This edition of Call had 70 female doctoral candidates, aged between 30 and 36, whose work was analyzed by a scientific jury chaired by Alexandre Quintanilha, President of the Education and Science Committee. The work of each of the researchers will be recognized with an individual prize of R$15,000, which aims to support and encourage the continuation of their research.

The “L’Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science” were created by L’Oréal Portugal, together with the National Commission of UNESCO (CNU) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with the aim of promoting the participation of women in Science. In 15 years, 49 young researchers have been awarded in Portugal.