The 2010 For Women in Science programme has chosen 15 new International Fellows. These young women researchers, at doctorate or post-doctorate level, will be granted for their outstanding research and will therefore be able to pursue their projects in renowned research laboratories outside of their country of origin (Host Institutions).

Those Fellowships give a boost to promising research and help the beneficiaries to build networks in the international community and acquire experience that they can later share when they return home.  

This year, the fellows have carried out their research in varied fields, at the forefront of the current scientific challenges and their projects fall under 4 main topics:

 1^st topic: Environmental protection and preservation of natural resources
- María Gabriela GEI from Costa Rica is a PhD student in Plant Ecology. She is working on the effects of the functional diversity of plants on the tropical forest ecosystem. Her Host institution is the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota in the USA.
- Djoudi ROUKIA from the Comoros is a PhD student in Phytochemistry. She is working on Marine biomolecules of biological interest in the Comoros archipelago. Her Host institution is the Laboratory of Biomolecular and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Perpignan in France.
- Maria-Teresa GUARDIOLA-CLARAMONTE from Spain is a PhD student in Hydrology and Water resources. She is working on the Public Health and environmental implications of water recycling. Her Host institution is the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas in Aleppo, Syria, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK.
- Nawal BOUAYNAYNE from Morocco is a PhD student in Chemistry of natural substances. She is working on antiparasitic and cytotoxic activity of benthic seawood extracts from the Nador laggon (Morocco). Her Host institution is theFaculty of Pharmacy at the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France.

 2^nd topic: New ideas in therapeutic treatments
- Elisabeth LENDOYE from Gabon is a PhD student in Physiology. She is developing a new pharmacological approach against type 2 diabetes. Her Host institution is the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France.
- Antima GUPTA from India  is a PhD student in Bacteriology. She is working on the development of an ex vivo model of resistance for testing new tuberculosis inhibitors. Her Host institution is the Department of Biological Sciences at the Birkbeck College, University of London, in the UK.
- Yifen TAN from Malaysia is a PhD student in Molecular Genetics. She is studying the functioning of small no-coding RNA in Pseudomonas Aeruginosa (an opportunistic pathogen). Her Host institution is the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the Harvard Medical School in the USA.
- Marissa TEO from Singapore is a PhD student in Tumour Immunology. She is working on therapy using T cells for the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (throat cancer) associated with Epstein Barr virus. Her Host institution is the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in the USA.

 3^rd topic : Understanding biological mechanisms
- Marietta Solange SOUPI NKEUTCHA from Cameroon is a PhD student in Plant Biotechnology. She is working on the role of Arabinogalactan proteins in Theobroma Cacao I. embryo development, genetic and molecular characterization. Her Host institution is the Laboratory of Chemistry of Natural Substances at the University of Limoges in France.
- Diana Marcela BOLANOS RODRIGUEZ from Colombia is a PhD student in Marine Biology. She is working on the implications of the regeneration models and processes of polyclad flatworms. Her Host institution is the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the USA.
- Ghalia BOUBAKER from Tunisia is a PhD student in Molecular Biology. She is working on the molecular characterization of gene coding for the protein P-29 in the Echinocuccus granulosus and study of the intra- and interspecific polymorphism of the gene. Her Host institution is the Institute of Parasitology at the University of Bern in Switzerland.
- Svitlana YABLONSKA from Ukraine is a PhD student in Biochemistry. She is working on the role of micro-RNAs in cancers associated with human papillomavirus.  Her Host institution is the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in the USA.

 4^th topic : Technology in the service of medicine
- Hadeer EL – DAKHAKHNI from Egypt is a PhD student in Biomaterials. She is working on the covering of phosphate components of Ca and titanium on metallic implants. Her Host institutions are the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of Materials in Strasbourg, France, and the National Research Centre, Biomaterials Department in Cairo, Egypt.
- Irène MARGIOLAKI from Greece is a PhD student in Structural Biology. She is working on deciphering the structure of viral proteins for the creation of antiviral drugs. Her Host institution is the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.
- Margoth Mitchela MORENO VIGO from Peru is a PhD student in Proteomics. She is working on 2^nd generation techniques for analyzing the proteome. Her Host institution is the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Centre, Autonomous University of Madrid in Spain.

These 15 young women scientists will receive their fellowships at the UNESCO (Paris) on March 3rd, 2010. 

More news to come…!

Tags :

• 2010 International Fellows 
• Antima Gupta 
• Diana Marcela Bolanos Rodriguez 
• Djoudi Roukia 
• Elisabeth Lendoye 
• Ghalia Boubaker 
• Hadeer El-Dakhakhni 
• Irène Margiolaki 
• Margoth Mitchela Moreno Vigo 
• Maria Gabriela Gei 
• Maria-Teresa Guardiola-Claramonte 
• Marietta Solange Soupi Nkeutcha 
• Marissa Teo 
• Nawal Bouaynayne 
• Svitlana Yablonska 
• Yfen Tan