L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor distinguish three more young scientists

Elisabete Oliveira (REQUIMTE, FCT-UNL), Ana Catarina Fonseca (iMM Lisboa, FML-UL) and Ana Faria (ISPA - MARE), are the three researchers distinguished in the 12th edition of the "L'Oréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science", created by L'Oréal Portugal, in partnership with the UNESCO National Commission and the Foundation for Science and Technology.

This annual prize, worth €20,000 each, aims to promote the participation of women in science by encouraging the youngest and most promising female scientists at the start of their careers to undertake advanced studies in the fields of health and environmental sciences.

The three young winners, selected from more than 70 candidates, join the group of 37 female scientists who have been supported by the L'Oréal Portugal prize since it was established in 2004.

Present since the first edition, FCT continues to support the L'Óréal Portugal Medals of Honor for Women in Science, ensuring that the proposals received are evaluated by a panel of scientists of recognized merit. Ana Sanchez, member of the Board of Directors, expresses FCT's commitment to this initiative: "We are proud to be able to contribute to supporting a new generation of scientists, full of promise and potential, and thus give a boost to the science carried out in Portugal, and to maintaining the place of women in science in our country. In fact, Portugal leads the way in European indicators of equity in R&D: in the total population of researchers, 45% are women (the European average is 33%); in top positions in scientific and administrative bodies at universities, 30% are women; Portugal is also the third country with the highest percentage of women with qualifications above a master's degree (56%, compared to the European average of 47%).

About the three award-winning researchers:

Elisabete Oliveira (32) wants to develop a new generation of luminescent nanoparticles to be used in the discovery of new biomarkers in cancer cells and in the creation of devices for the distribution and controlled release of drugs in these cells. His research aims to achieve a more incisive but non-invasive therapy, whose action can be monitored through the luminescence of the nanoparticles, leading to a controlled dosage that mitigates adverse effects and combats resistance to conventional chemotherapy.

Elisabete Oliveira has a PhD in Biotechnology (2010) from the Faculty of Science and Technology of Universidade Nova de Lisboa. She spent two years at the University of Vigo, Spain, as a post-doctoral researcher, and now has the same responsibilities in the BIOSCOPE group, at UCIBIO-REQUIMTE, at the institution where she received her PhD. She received FCT funding under the 2014 FCT Researcher Program. Analytical chemistry, nanotechnology and nanoproteomics are her areas of interest.

Ana Catarina Fonseca (34) intends to study the structure of the heart of patients who have suffered strokes of various origins, including those of undetermined origin. Through comparison, she will try to see if there are alterations that can be used to diagnose and prevent new ischemic strokes of undetermined etiology, particularly those that currently depend on a lengthy and not always possible diagnosis of atrial fibrillation.

Ana Catarina received her PhD in Medicine, specializing in Neurology, from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (2014). In the same year she completed a Masters in Public Health at Harvard University (USA), after completing two Masters degrees: in Stroke Medicine, at Danube Krems University, Austria, and in Neurosciences, at the University of Lisbon. She is a researcher at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon and a doctor at the Santa Maria Hospital.

Ana Faria (34) wants to study how fish off the Portuguese coast are being affected by the increased acidity of ocean water, a consequence of rising_CO2 levels. This has already proven to have harmful effects on the marine ecosystem, endangering the sustainability of marine fish, an essential resource for humanity.

 Ana Faria has a PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of Algarve (2010). She began her post-doctoral research at ISPA - Instituto Universitário, where she is a member of the MARE Research Center, where she continues to do research. She teaches on the Biology degree course and the Marine Biology and Conservation master's degree course.

(Image credits: L'Oréal Portugal)