The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards are presented every year to five outstanding women scientists – one per each of the following regions: Africa and the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America - in recognition of their scientific accomplishments. Each scientist has had a unique career path combining exceptional talent, a deep commitment to her profession and remarkable courage in a field still largely dominated by men.
The scientific fields considered for the awards alternate every other year between LifeSciences (even years) and PhysicalSciences, Mathematics and Computer Science (odd years).
Five L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureates received the Nobel Prize in their field of expertise: Christine Nusslein-Volhard and Elizabeth Blackburn in Medicine or Physiology, Ada Yonath, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna in Chemistry.
2022 LAUREATES
These five exceptional women scientists are recognized for the excellence of their research in the fields of life sciences
AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES
Professor Agnès Binagwaho - Public Health
Professor of Pediatrics and Vice-Chancellor of Global Health Equity University, Kigali, Rwanda
Awarded for her critical role in establishing, advocating for, and creating a new model of equitable public health care for the most vulnerable in Rwanda, Africa, and the world. Her work and her unwavering commitment to public health are driving access to HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, and under five health services, and universal health coverage more broadly.
ASIA & PACIFIC
Professor Hailan Hu – Neuroscience
Professor and Executive Director of the Neuroscience Center of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, China
Awarded for her pioneering discoveries in neurobiology that have revolutionized our understanding of social emotional behavior and mental disorders. Her groundbreaking work has deciphered the mechanism of depression and informed the development of nextgeneration antidepressants.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Professor María Guadalupe Guzmán Tirado - Infectious Diseases
Director of the Research Center of the Pedro Kouri Institute (IPK) Institute of Tropical Medicine, Havana, Cuba
Awarded for her pioneering work on the devastating human infections caused by the dengue virus, one of the world's most important diseases in terms of morbidity and mortality. Her research has led to a better understanding of its pathogenesis, diagnostic, surveillance and prevention.
NORTH AMERICA
Professor Katalin Karikó – Biochemistry
Adjunct Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, United States of America, and Senior Vice President at BioNTech RNA Pharmaceuticals
Awarded for her groundbreaking development of a non-inflammatory mRNA, which can be a potent vaccine and is essential for recently producing effective COVID-19 vaccines. Her work has paved the way for future therapies in complex diseases such as cancer, heart failure, stroke, anemia and autoimmune diseases.
EUROPE
Professor Ángela Nieto - Embryology
Professor at the Institute of Neuroscience (CSIC-UMH), San Juan de Alicante, Spain
Awarded for her fundamental discoveries on how cells change identity during embryonic development to disseminate and form different tissues. Her work has paved the way for the understanding of how cancer spreads to other organs and forms metastasis.
2021 LAUREATES
These five exceptional women scientists are recognized for the excellence of their research in the fields of Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science
AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES
Professor Catherine Ngila – Chemistry
Acting Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences, Former Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic and Student Affairs (DVC-AA) at Riara University, Kenya, and Visiting Professor of Applied Chemistry at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Recognized for introducing, developing and applying nanotechnology-based analytical methods to monitor water pollutants. Her innovative work is of vital importance for the development of water resource management in an environmentally sustainable way.
ASIA & PACIFIC
Professor Kyoko Nozaki – Chemistry
Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tokyo, Japan.
Recognized for her pioneering, creative contributions within the field of synthetic chemistry, and their importance to industrial innovation. Her research has led to new, highly effective and environmentally friendly production processes to manufacture molecules useful for medicine and sustainable agriculture.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Professor Alicia DICKENSTEIN – Mathematics
Professor of Mathematics at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Recognized for her outstanding contributions at the forefront of mathematical innovation by leveraging algebraic geometry in the field of molecular biology. Her research enables scientists to understand the structures and behaviour of cells and molecules, even on a microscopic scale. Operating at the frontier between pure and applied mathematics, she has forged important links to physics and chemistry, and enabled biologists to gain an in-depth structural understanding of biochemical reactions and enzymatic networks.
NORTH AMERICA
Professor Shafi Goldwasser – Computer Science
Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at University of California Berkeley, RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, USA, and Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Weizmann Institute, Israel.
Recognized for her pioneering and fundamental work in computer science and cryptography, essential for secure communication over the internet as well as for shared computation on private data. Her research has a significant impact on our understanding of large classes of problems for which computers cannot efficiently find even approximate solutions.
EUROPE
Professor Françoise Combes – Astrophysics
Professor, Chair of Galaxies and Cosmology, Collège de France, since 2014 and astronomer at the Paris Observatory - PSL, France.
Recognized for her outstanding contribution to astrophysics which ranges from the discovery of molecules in interstellar space to supercomputer simulations of galaxy formation. Her work has been crucial to our understanding of the birth and evolution of stars and galaxies, including the role played by supermassive black holes in galactic centers.
2020 LAUREATES
These five exceptional women scientists are recognized for the excellence of their research in the fields of life sciences
AFRICA AND THE ARAB STATES
Professor Abla MEHIO SIBAI – Medicine and Health sciences
Professor of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
Awarded for her pioneering research and advocacy to improve healthy ageing in low- and middle-income countries and their impact on health and social policies and programs.
ASIA & PACIFIC
Doctor Firdausi QADRI – Biological sciences
Senior Scientist, Head Mucosal Immunology and Vaccinology Unit, Infectious Diseases Division, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease and Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Awarded for her outstanding work to understand and prevent infectious diseases affecting children in developing countries, and promote early diagnosis and vaccination with global health impact.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Professor Esperanza MARTÍNEZ-ROMERO – Ecology and Environmental sciences
Professor of Environmental Science at the Genomic Science Center, National University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
Awarded for her pioneering work on the use of environmentally friendly bacteria to support plant growth for increased agricultural productivity while reducing the use of chemical fertilizers.
NORTH AMERICA
Professor Kristi ANSETH – Biological sciences
Distinguished Professor, Tisone Professor and Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado, Boulder, United States.
Awarded for her outstanding contribution in converging engineering with biology to develop innovative biomaterials that help promote tissue regeneration and more effective delivery of drugs.
EUROPE
Professor Edith HEARD FRS (1) – Biological sciences
Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Chair of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory at the Collège de France, Paris, France, and former Director of the Genetics and Developmental Biology Unit at the Institut Curie. (1)Fellow of the Royal Society.
Awarded for her fundamental discoveries of mechanisms governing epigenetic processes that allow mammals to regulate proper gene expression, which is essential for life.
previous editions
21th Edition (2019):
Awards in life sciences | International Rising Talents
20th Edition (2018):
Awards in life sciences | International Rising Talents
19th Edition (2017):
Awards in material sciences | International Rising Talents
18th Edition (2016):
Awards in life sciences | International Rising Talents
17th Edition (2015):
Awards in material sciences | International Rising Talents
16th Edition (2014):
Awards in life sciences | Fellowships
15th Edition (2013):
Awards in material sciences | Fellowships
2013 Programme of events
14th Edition (2012):
Awards in life sciences | Fellowships
13th Edition (2011):
Awards in material sciences | Fellowships