L’Oréal-Unesco Awards for Women in Science: three Belgian women researchers honoured

25/10/2017

Together, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation reward women scientists for "the excellence of their work, their courage and their commitment to the field of scientific research."

All too often women are overlooked in the scientific world. There are barely 28% of women researchers and prejudices about women in this context are still very common. According to a study by the L’Oréal Corporate Foundation, 90% of Europeans see women as being good at everything apart from science.

In response, the L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science reward women for their role in science by allowing them to continue their research. Belgian grants, representing €60,000, have been awarded every two years since 2007 under the auspices of the Fonds pour la recherche scientifique (FRS-FNRS) and the Fonds voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek (FWO).

Eighteen Belgian women have been rewarded since the creation of the Belgian section of the award. This year, the prize winners are: Emmanuelle Wilhelm for her research on the functioning of the human brain and, more specifically, the motor function aspect. Mieke Metzemaekers for her research on the strength of the immune system, and Aurélie De Groote for her research on the brain aimed to improve understanding of decision-making and reward-driven behaviour.

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