L'Oréal Fellowships are committed to Researching Diabetes & Childhood Brain Cancer

Five young scientists receive grants of 15,000 euros for their promising studies in fields of biology and medicine.

Five Spanish scientific paths yesterday received scholarships, endowed with 15,000 euros each corresponding to L'Oréal-Unesco Program. The research grants, which support young scientists with promising projects, are aimed at very different research areas, from therapies for childhood brain tumors to treatments for obesity and diabetes.

The fellows of this year, recognized for their promising investigations, include Marta Alonso, who explores new substances capable of combating brain cancers in children; Begona Sot, who studies proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases, Maria Ángeles Tormo, distinguished by studying the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, which causes serious infections in both humans and animals; Laura Herrero, seeking new treatments for obesity and type 2 diabetes, and Reyes Benlloch, for his research on photoreceptor proteins in plants.

The five scientists were chosen from over 300 candidates after a rigorous process in curricula missing not bright. After being reviewed by a technical committee and then by the National Agency of Evaluation and Prospective (ANEP), the final decision corresponded to a jury chaired by Margarita Salas, honorary research Center for Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa,

During the ceremony for these scholarships, the president of L'Oréal Spain, François Xavier Fenart, said the challenge regards the current company is ‘awakening vocations today raised its academic and professional future and encourage them to continue a research career.’ Get more details from here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_cancer

If we look at the data from the Ministry of Education and independent bodies, there is still much to do to what women occupy in the scientific system the place it deserves. In a career in medicine, for example, three in four students are female. If women are the majority in scientific qualifications, remain marginalized from power and positions where decisions are made. According to data from the CSIC, the researchers account for about 35% of the scientists of the center.

Maria Blasco, director of the National Research Centre (CNIO), still perceives some sexism in science, which leads women researchers to work harder than men.