(Press-News.org)
JST has selected winners for the third Marie Sklodowska Curie Award for young female researchers. For the third Marie Sklodowska Curie Award, we accepted applications from October 2 to December 11, 2023. Through document screenings and interviews with external experts, we have selected one Grand Prize winner and two Inspiration Prize winners. JEOL Ltd. will award 1M yen for the Grand Prize and 500K yen for each Inspiration Prize.
JST recognizes the importance of initiatives designed to promote the activities of female researchers in science, technology, and innovation, and based on this belief we established the “Marie Sklodowska Curie Award” in 2021, together with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, for awarding young female researchers who are expected to flourish across the world. The award’s namesake, Dr. Marie Sklodowska Curie, was recognized for her achievements in her early thirties and later won two Nobel Prizes. The award honors her great contribution and achievements to the development of science and technology, and we hope her example will inspire the ambitions of Japanese female researchers.
While the latter half of the doctoral program and the first few years after obtaining doctoral degrees are the most promising period for female researchers to make great strides as independent researchers, it is also true that they often face various life events during this period. By honoring the achievements of the winners and making them widely recognized, we hope that this award will support them to take a leap forward with their passion and flexibility as well as to foster the next generation of female researchers.
The Winners of the Third Marie Sklodowska Curie Award
Grand Prize Winner
Prize pot: 1M yen,
Sub prize: Travel expenses (transportation and accommodation) to visit research institutes in Poland
Kana Moriwaki
Assistant Professor, Research Center for the Early Universe, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
Dr. Moriwaki was the first in the world to point out the importance of observing oxygen spectral lines rather than the traditional hydrogen spectral lines in order to elucidate the large-scale structure of the early universe. She also proposed a signal separation data analysis method using machine learning, which enables the detection of distant galaxy clusters with extremely high efficiency.
These results are highly original and impactful, contributing significantly to the data analysis of astronomical observations, which has led to launch the large-scale international project. As a role model and science communicator with excellent presentation skills, in a field where there are few female researchers, she is expected to play the active role in Japan and overseas.
Inspiration Prize Winners
(Prize pot: 500K yen each)
Kei Ota
Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kindai University
Dr. Ota pioneered new area of elemental chemistry by utilizing boron and nitrogen to synthesize novel inorganic aromatic compounds that do not contain carbon atoms in their frameworks as well as developing compounds with new bonding motif. Her achievements in designing molecules and developing reactions using main-group elements, which are generally more abundant than transition metals, are highly novel and will change conventional thinking on the issue.
After obtaining her PhD in Chemistry from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, she has continuously been engaged in highly creative research. She is a promising talent who is expected to make great contributions both in Japan and overseas.
Aya Mitani
Assistant Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Dr. Mitani has developed new statistical methodologies to model the progression of gum disease and predict the probability of tooth loss based on complex long-term dental examination data, and enabled more accurate prediction of gum disease progression.
Her interdisciplinary approach to solve difficult problems in dental public health using appropriate statistical techniques is innovative and exemplary. She has already established herself as a principal investigator in Canada and is actively engaged in international collaborations.
END
Life-changing events like the birth of a child, the purchase of a new home, or a lottery win could threaten the survival of a new business venture, research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found.
A recent study led by ECU’s Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Pi-Shen Seet with Associate Professor Wee-Liang Tan from the Singapore Management University found that positive family events had a comparatively greater influence, albeit negatively, on the survival of a new venture, compared with negative events.
“A positive family event, like the birth of a child, often has an emotional spin-on effect for an entrepreneur ...
Robert Wagner, associate laboratory director for the Energy Science and Technology Directorate at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been selected to receive the George Westinghouse Gold Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, or ASME. The award recognizes his work to advance state-of-the-art clean power generation systems through research on combustion, fuel technologies and controls.
Wagner will be presented the award in October during ASME’s ...
MIAMI, FLORIDA (MAY 23, 2024) – A new treatment approach using an older drug may enable more patients with high-risk blood cancers to receive transplanted stem cells from unrelated, partially matched donors, according to a study conducted by researchers at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and colleagues.
Results to be presented at the annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Hematology Association suggest the new approach may expand the donor pool, with patients from underrepresented racial and ethnic ...
MIAMI, FLORIDA (May 23, 2024) – Coral Olazagasti expected a relatively smooth transition when she moved to New York to start her residency after graduating from medical school in her native Puerto Rico. But that proved wishful thinking.
She not only experienced major culture shock, but also her superiors and colleagues often chastised her for speaking too loudly and joked about her accent.
“Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory so when I moved to New York, I thought it wasn’t going to be a big change,” said Olazagasti, ...
The 2024 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) will take place in Chicago and online May 31-June 4.
Below are highlights of Fred Hutch Cancer Center research to be presented at the conference and experts available to comment on news. You can follow Fred Hutch on social media for additional updates and check out Fred Hutch booth #14018 in the exhibit hall.
For interview requests with Fred Hutch experts, please contact media@fredhutch.org.
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States and, according to the National Cancer Institute, ...
Scientists have known for years that a lattice of blood vessels nourishes cells in the retina that allow us to see – but it’s been a mystery how the intricate structure is created.
Now, researchers at UC San Francisco have found a new type of neuron that guides its formation.
The discovery, described in the May 23, 2024, issue of Cell, could one day lead to new therapies for diseases that are related to impaired blood flow in the eyes and brain.
“This is the first time anyone has seen retinal neurons using direct contact with blood vessels as a way of guiding them to form these precise 3-D lattices,” said ...
The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Women in Plant Biology Committee recently named 25 Inspiring Women in Plant Biology to celebrate their achievements and inspire future generations of female plant biologists. This committee, dedicated to addressing particular concerns to women scientists and promoting the inclusion of female plant biologists throughout the Society and profession, created this list with input and nominations from the community.
“This initiative was inspired by two things: First, our desire to improve recognition of inspiring women scientists. We have had ...
Speaking at the World Health Assembly, authors of a new Lancet Series call for urgent global action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and ensuring sustainable access to antibiotics through:
Intensifying efforts to promote vaccination, access to safe water and sanitation, and hospital infection control, thereby reducing infections and the use of antibiotics, which protects their long-term effectiveness.
Expanding access to existing and new antibiotics, which could save many lives lost to bacterial infections.
Increasing investment in new antibiotics, vaccines and diagnostics that are designed to be affordable and ...
Inadequate access to simple elective surgery in developing countries is storing up future health problems for patients and may create a spiral of future health complications putting more people’s lives at risk, a new study reveals.
Analysing the experience of more than 18,000 patients in 640 hospitals across 83 countries, researchers, experts used hernia repair to represent elective health care, concluding that such treatments are essential to prevent over-reliance on emergency systems.
The study reveals ...
The newly released Cass Review on transgender care for young people has been pivotal in the UK, where the prescription of puberty “blocking” drugs outside of research protocols has now ceased.
But in the United States, where the treatment-intensive, “gender affirming” model of care is the norm, the impact of Cass’s four-year investigation and final report has been largely ignored, finds journalist Jennifer Block in The BMJ today.
The review concluded that the evidence on use of puberty blockers and hormones for children and teens experiencing gender ...
