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Five Argentine scientists who make women visible in science

2022-02-11T14:54:25.241Z


On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate five of the most outstanding Argentine scientists in the field of science and research.


(CNN Spanish) -- 

There are dozens and they are all over Latin America.

It is the region where there is the highest proportion of female researchers worldwide, although they still struggle to access leadership positions, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

In figures, women represent 45% of researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean, compared to 28% worldwide, according to a UNESCO report published in 2020. 

Argentina, for example, is one of the countries in the region with the highest percentage of women scientists: in 2019, more than 50% were dedicated to research and experimental development, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. 

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate five of the most outstanding Argentine scientists in the field of science and research.

They have won prizes for their valuable contributions to science, teach at universities and have written articles in the most important publications in the scientific field.

Andrea Gamarnik, virologist

Andrea Gamarnik led the development of the first Argentine serological tests for covid-19.

(Credit: CONICET)

Andrea Gamarnik has made important advances in the molecular biology of dengue and Zika viruses and led the development of the first Argentine serological tests for covid-19, according to the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) of Argentina.

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"Boys and girls must be encouraged to see that the possibilities for professional development are equal and that women are capable of directing a research project, being successful," the virologist told CNN.

For Gamarnik it is important to make women scientists visible in her country.

When the coronavirus pandemic arrived, she launched a project that combines science and music with the help of one of the most renowned bassists in Latin America, Clara Cantore.

The videos of "Music for Science" present the progress of her research on the evolution of covid-19 and have thousands of views on YouTube.

Gamarnik studied biochemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).

She has a doctorate in virology from the University of California, San Francisco, where she studied the molecular mechanisms of polio virus replication.

She also participated in the development of phenotypic assays for HIV, and hepatitis B and C viruses (2000-2001) in California.

In 2001 he returned to Argentina to join the Leloir Institute, where he created the first Molecular Virology laboratory.

She has received numerous awards, including the L'Oreal UNESCO International Prize for Women in Science representing Latin America in 2016. In 2013, she received the Konex Prize in Science and Technology.

"Science is enriched by the presence of women," said Gamarnik, citing his country as an example, where there is considerable interest on the part of women in scientific careers.

However, he acknowledged, the majority do not reach leadership positions: "Those positions are still occupied by 70% of men and on that journey - from the beginning of a career to development - there are many steps. Among them, there is the issue of maternity and the lack of facilities that women have to go through this stage of life".

Gamarnik is the first Argentine woman to belong to the American Academy of Microbiology, she has been a Researcher in the international program of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in the United States, she is a member of CONICET and participates as an academic editor in the journal PloS Pathogens, edited by the Public Library of Science.

Bibiana Vilá, biologist: conservation and environmental education

Bibiana Vilá received the Midori award in 2019 for her contributions to the conservation of biodiversity.

(Credit: Bibiana Vila)

He had just graduated in Biological Sciences from the UBA when he began studying the vicuñas of northern Argentina, where he became fascinated by the local cultures.

As a CONICET researcher, Bibiana Vilá investigated the reproductive biology of this species of the camelid family that lives in the Andean highlands.

His work has been recognized both in Argentina and internationally.

In 2014, the biologist won the Midori Prize, awarded by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the AEON Foundation of Japan, which works worldwide on issues related to the prevention of global warming and the conservation of biodiversity.

Upon receiving the award, Vilá recognized the importance that the women in her life have had in her career as a scientist: "My love for animals and the wonder of nature began in childhood through the teachings of my grandmother, Meme. My mother was also an animal-loving person."

With her team, which is made up mostly of women scientists, Vilá recovered and adapted the “chaku” — a pre-Hispanic vicuña capture ritual — to modern animal welfare practices.

This allowed, according to CONICET, that the inhabitants could obtain the fiber of the vicuñas with the shearing, without killing or mistreating the animals.

"The science that we do, we have to direct it towards care and to direct it towards care, we women have to have a leading role," Vilá told CNN.

Vilá also teaches environmental sciences at the National University of Luján and assures that the majority of her students are women, around 80%.

"The choice of the environment and care is becoming very feminized. Although for me it is encouraging, it would not be good if the hard sciences, in which money is earned, those that generate technology... belong to men. And the sciences of caring and more loving with the environment are only for women, because again it is a reflection of patriarchy," he said.

Karen Hallberg, Physicist

Karen Hallberg received the L'Oréal-UNESCO prize in 2019 for the development of computational techniques to understand the physics of quantum matter.

(Credit: Karen Hallberg)

Karen was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, but grew up in Jujuy.

She studied at the Balseiro Institute where she received a degree in Physics and a Ph.D. in Physics.

She was recognized with the L'Oréal-Unesco International Prize for Women in Science in 2019 for the development of computational techniques to understand the physics of quantum matter, according to CONICET. 

"I hope it encourages more girls and young women to study physics, mathematics, computing, chemistry and engineering, which are fascinating careers!" Said the physicist upon receiving the award in 2019.

According to UNESCO, the creative and innovative applications of the methods carried out by Hallberg constitute a fundamental contribution to the understanding of nanoscopic systems and new materials.

For Hallberg, it is important that there is a change from the culture in relation to the presence of women in science: "With girls, since they are very young, generate self-esteem, encourage them to project themselves as researchers or engineers," said the science to CNN.

She also recalled that since she was a child she felt the rejection of her community for wanting to become a scientist.

"As long as she continues to see that it is strange and that it attracts attention that a woman dedicates herself to engineering or quantum physics like me, that is a sign that we need to mature as a society."

Hallberg is a principal investigator at Conicet in the Condensed Matter Theory group at the Bariloche Atomic Center.

She is the author of more than 80 scientific articles in high-impact international journals, editor of a book, several book chapters, review and popularization articles.

She has also been invited to more than 50 international scientific congresses.

His job is to investigate the quantum properties of matter.

With his group, he develops advanced numerical methods "based on quantum information for the calculation of electronic and magnetic properties of novel complex materials", according to Conicet ..

Gloria Dubner, astrophysicist

An asteroid is named after Gloria Dubner for her contribution to astronomy.

(Credit: RAGCYT)

Gloria Dubner is a reference in the study of supernovae.

For her contribution to astronomy and her work on behalf of women scientists, asteroid 9515-1975 RA2 is named after her.

“Women look at the sky in a broader and more detailed way.

Men focus on more limited objects," said Dubner, who was director of the Institute of Astronomy and Space Physics (IAFE) in Buenos Aires, during a day of talks in 2019 that aimed to deconstruct the view of the feminine from the science.

Dubner studied Physics at the UBA and has a doctorate in Physics also from the National University of La Plata.

She is a researcher at Conicet and is part of the National Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences of Argentina, which in 2016 awarded her the Consecration Award in Astronomy.

In the 1980s, astrophysicists confused the Latin American Association of Women Astronomers, which advocated the recognition of maternity leave for scholarship holders and for extending the age when applying for a scholarship in the case of researchers with children. .

She is the author of more than a hundred articles published in scientific journals and the book "Supernovas. The spectacular end of the stars".

Astrophysics is frequently invited to speak about her specialty at international conferences.

Sandra Diaz, biologist

Biologist Sandra Díaz received the Princess of Asturias Award in 2019. (Credit: Carlos R. Alvarez/WireImage via Getty Images)

Sandra Díaz was part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. She is also the only Argentine scientist who is a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

Her specialty is the study of the impact of global climate change on the regional biodiversity of plant ecosystems, according to the National Academy of Sciences of Argentina. 

With a team of around 144 people, the scientist led the preparation of the report on the world's biodiversity of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).

The results were alarming: "a million species are heading for extinction due to human activities, and drastic measures will be needed to stop this," published the journal

Nature

, which highlighted Díaz as one of the scientists to follow in 2019.

According to the publication, the Argentine biologist challenged what was once one of the central principles of ecology in the 20th century.

"The idea that ecosystems and their benefits to humans, like food or climate regulation, are highly dependent on having large numbers of species."

Díaz is a senior researcher at the Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology, which depends on CONICET.

In addition, according to her profile from the National University of Córdoba, she is a founding member and General Scientific Coordinator of DiverSus, an international research network on biodiversity, ecosystems and sustainability, where scientists from Argentina, the United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Brazil converge.

"I look forward to the day when I am asked about my science in interviews, because gender equality is no longer a problem," Díaz told the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, where she participated as principal investigator of a project on the role of ecosystem services for human well-being.

The outstanding career of this Argentine biologist serves as an example for those girls who wish to dedicate themselves to the world of science and she herself encourages them to pursue their dreams.

"That they play for what they think, that they go further and be original, rather than followers or executors of others' ideas," said Díaz.

The scientist has received several national and international awards such as the Lorenzo Parodi award from the Argentine Botanical Association, the JS Guggenheim scholarship, the 2008 United States Ecology Society Sustainability Award, and the Princess of Asturias Award, among others.

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Source: cnnespanol

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