2016 Elsevier Foundation Awards Announced
The 2016 Elsevier Foundation Awards, given in partnership with OWSD and TWAS, were announced 10 February, 2016 in Washington, D.C, with winners from Indonesia, Nepal, Peru, Uganda and Yemen.
On 10 February, at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington, D.C., five early-career women scientists from the developing world received the 2016 Elsevier Foundation Award. The winners, from Indonesia, Nepal, Peru, Uganda and Yemen, were all selected for their excellence in biological research, in fields ranging from nutrition to biotechnology to epidemiology.
The Elsevier Foundation Awards are a partnership between the Elsevier Foundation, OWSD and The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and are given every year to five women scientists whose work has potential to have strong societal impact. A prize of $5,000 and a trip to the AAAS Annual Meeting are intended to reward the women's accomplishments, provide them with further networking and professional development opportunities, and serve as inspiration for other women and girls in science in the developing world. This year, which focused on the biological sciences, the five winners are:
● Dr. Etheldrera Nakimuli‐Mpungu, Makerere University Kampala, Uganda (Sub-Saharan Africa Region)
● Dr. Sri Fatmawati, Kampus ITS Sukolilo, Indonesia (East and South-East Asia & the Pacific Region
● Dr. Sushila Maharjan, Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology RIBB, Nepal (Central & South Asia Region)
● Dr. Magaly Blas, Urb Ingenieria, Peru (Latin America and the Caribbean Region)
● Dr. Ghanya Al‐Naqeb, Faculty of Agriculture, Sana’a University, Yemen (Arab Region)
The winners will be celebrated and will receive their awards on Friday, 13 February at the Gender & Minorities Networking Breakfast during the AAAS meeting. During their visit to Washington, D.C., they will also have the opportunity to visit their embassies of nationality and meet with their ambassadors, as well as pay a visit to George Washington University.
The five 2016 winners in Biological Sciences were selected by a committee organized by OWSD, made up of six research scientists from the Trieste Science System, including the Elettra Sincrotrone, the Quantatitive Life Sciences sector at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), the Life Sciences department at the University of Trieste as well as the Department of Nutrition at the University of Primorska in Koper, Slovenia. For biographies of each winner and more information about the Elsevier Foundation Awards, see the press release in full below.