ZAGREB, April 9, 2018 – Four young Croatian scientists who have contributed to science and society have been awarded fellowships from the L’Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science initiative.
This is the 12th time that the fellowships have been granted in Croatia and the 20th year since the initiative was launched and awards were presented in 117 countries in the world.
L’Oreal ADRIA and Croatian National Commission for UNESCO in the Ministry of Culture awarded Croatian National Fellowships for Women in Science to Andrea Bistrović from the Zagreb Chemical Engineering and Technology Faculty, Antonela Blažeković from the Zagreb School of Medicine for her research in the functioning of proteins in Parkinson Disease, Marija Brbić from the Ruđer Bošković Institute for her work in molecular biology and Martina Požar from the Natural Sciences Faculty in Split.
The awards were presented to the laureates by the parliament speaker’s envoy Vesna Bedeković, government envoys, Education Minister Blaženka Divjak and Culture Minister Nina Obuljen Koržinek and the president of the national commission and president of the Croatian Academy of Science and Arts Zvonko Kusić.
The Director-General of L’Oreal Adria, Brigitee Streller, expressed the company’s confidence in women in science and added that more than 3,000 female researchers in 117 countries have received fellowships, including 102 winners of the L’Oreal UNESCO awards, of whom three laureates have received Nobel Prizes.
The fellowships each amount to 5,000 euros, and to date 46 young female researchers in Croatia have received fellowships.
Even though the number of women in science has increased by 12% over the past two decades, they are still faced with obstacles in achieving their full potential and only 11% are in management in academic institutions, UNESCO noted in its information material sent to the organisers of the award ceremony.
