CONICET researcher received the Scientist of the Year award from the Women Economic Forum

Every year the Women Economic Forum (WEF) presents the WEF awards in different categories that cover art, sports, science and the business world, with the aim of promoting women and dissidents. On this occasion, one of the winners was Fernanda Parborell, researcher at the Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) at the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (IBYME, CONICET – F-IBYME). Parborell was awarded in the “Scientist of the Year” category for her contributions in chemical and biological sciences, with a focus on equal opportunities.

According to the official WEF site: “This award honors the scientist, in any discipline of science, who during this year has been innovative, inspiring and overcoming, always with respect for equality and diversity.” For Parborell, these women “give voice to women who have no voice, who are vulnerable and no one protects.”

Among the numerous projects led by the researcher, two were highlighted by the WEF board of notables as drivers of the “Scientist of the Year” award: The first addresses the consequences of COVID-19 on female fertility in the short and long term. It should be noted that this project was the first scientifically based work published, in the midst of a pandemic, in the world. The second research, highlighted by the Forum, proposes a low-cost and non-invasive treatment to protect the ovaries and uterus against the damage of potential chemotherapy in patients diagnosed with cancer. These therapies, which are still in the research stage, would solve both economic problems and bureaucratic delays in the guarantees that allow egg freezing.

About the award, the scientist says: “I felt a caress to the soul, a recognition. I have the vocation to be a scientist and I fought a lot, like a lot of my colleagues fight. The attitude of getting up a thousand times is worth it,” he reflects.

WEF is an international forum, based in Argentina, that pursues initiatives for the economic progress of women and dissidents. The Forum works daily to encourage women and LGTBQI+ identities to conquer those spaces traditionally dominated by men.