The prizes were handed out at a ceremony in Warsaw on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
A jury of 17 scientists, led by biotechnologist Ewa Łojkowska, granted the 2023 L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards to six researchers, out of 274 applicants.
Marta Pacia from the Jagiellonian University in the southern Polish city of Kraków received the 2023 L’Oréal-UNESCO Award and a PLN 40,000 (EUR 9,100) scholarship for he innovative study of lipid droplets, according to officials.
The same prize went to Aleksandra Rutkowska from the Medical University of Gdańsk for her research into multiple sclerosis, the PAP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Angelika Andrzejewska-Romanowska from the Polish Academy of Sciences in the western city of Poznań received the 2023 L’Oréal-UNESCO Award and a PLN 35,000 (EUR 7,960) scholarship for research in the field of bioorganic chemistry.
Elżbieta Wątor from the Jagiellonian University was honoured for her innovative research in biotechnology, the PAP news agency reported.
Two other female scholars received the 2023 L’Oréal-UNESCO Award and a PLN 25,000 (EUR 5,685) scholarship for their research in the life and environmental sciences.
Prof. Michał Kleiber, who heads the Polish National Commission for UNESCO, said it was vital to support women scientists and promote their outstanding achievements "as female scholars must still counter stereotypes that constrain their professional development."
The jury's Łojkowska said that more women should assume management roles at universities, adding that "only gender equality will allow science to channel humanity's full potential."
The L’Oréal-UNESCO Awards for women in science are granted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in partnership with Poland's Ministry of Education and Science, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
