2010 UK and Ireland Winners
The winners of the four 2010 L’Oreal-UNESCO UK and Ireland Fellowships For Women In Science were announced on 30 June 2010 at an awards ceremony held at the Royal Institution in London.
Dr Pia Mukherjee, University of Sussex
To undertake research into determining the origin and potential fate of the Universe
Dr Pia Mukherjee will use her For Women In Science Fellowship to support her research at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sussex. Her work will focus on cosmological models.
Our knowledge of the Universe has been achieved by close conjunction of theoretical analysis and observational evidence in complementary, supportive ways. In recent decades the advent of new lines of thought, sophisticated computational advances and a wide range of powerful astronomical telescopes and instruments working from the ground and in space has led to fundamentally new understanding of the structural and chemical development of the Universe over almost the whole of cosmic time. The generally-accepted picture is contained within what is known as the "standard cosmological model".
Pia Mukherjee’s research will use observations to determine further aspects of the standard cosmological model, to test it against alternatives, and to use different techniques to reconstruct the underlying physical processes that comprise the model. New data from key surveys in the next few years should reveal several intriguing details regarding inflation (a brief period of very accelerated expansion in the early Universe that created the seeds of the structure we see today) and the nature of dark energy (which is currently causing accelerated expansion of the universe). Pia will develop new techniques as well as use previously pioneered methods to analyse these data. This work on model selection may well be the future of cosmological data analysis.
Pia Mukherjee is currently a part-time Research Fellow at the University of Sussex having spent time undertaking postdoctoral work in both the UK and USA. The fellowship will enable Pia to re-establish her career after an extended break and get back on track towards a full-time career in Astronomy research and teaching.
Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London
To undertake research into determining how effective terrestrial protected areas are in conserving the world’s major ecosystems
Dr Nathalie Pettorelli will use her For Women In Science Fellowship to support her research at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London. Her work will develop a global monitoring framework for protected areas.
Protected areas are defined as areas especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and currently encompass 13.9% of the Earth’s land surface. They form the core of most national or regional biodiversity conservation strategies. Furthermore, protected areas supply a range of ecosystem services to societies such as clean water, wild food and genetic material. And they also play a role in mitigating the impacts of climate change through carbon capture storage, acting as a buffer against natural disasters and helping to maintain microclimatic or climatic stability. But just how effective are protected areas in conserving the world’s major ecosystems in the face of environmental change? Monitoring protected areas is vital to understanding this and for making relevant management decisions.
Using her experience in spatial analysis, remote sensing data and modelling, Nathalie’s innovative research will build the first global picture of protected area effectiveness. Working at the interface of science and environmental policy she will bring together long term data sets on biodiversity, the environment and human impacts to explore spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem functioning and help identify where conservation attention needs to focus in the future.
Originally from France, Natalie Pettorelli is a trained population ecologist who has developed over the years a broad interest in conservation science and environmental policy. After several years of post-doctoral work based in various countries, including Canada and Norway, she is now a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Zoology since 2006. The fellowship will help Nathalie to carry out satellite data extraction and analysis, as well as data compilation on protected areas, and to undertake collaborative visits to spatial agencies such as NASA.
Dr Dora Biro, University of Oxford
To undertake research into whether birds can learn travel routes from one another
Dr Dora Biro will use her For Women In Science Fellowship to support her research at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford. Her work will focus on social information use during collective animal movement.
Animals that live in social groups benefit from the company of others in many different ways. Animal groups are typically composed of individuals differing in many attributes, providing opportunities for less experienced individuals to obtain information from knowledgeable group-mates. But just how do animals learn from each other; how do they choose who to copy, and how do they know what behaviours are worth learning?
Dora Biro will build on her leading work in avian orientation to focus on a particular aspect of social learning: using homing pigeons as a model system she will research how navigational knowledge is exchanged within moving groups. If naïve pigeons are given the opportunity to fly with an experienced partner, can they learn something about the route to be taken or do they simply “blindly” follow? Can naïve birds discriminate knowledgeable individuals from those that know no more than themselves? Dora will bring a field experimental approach to this largely neglected field of social learning using miniature GPS devices to follow flight journeys with extraordinary precision. Her findings will have fundamental relevance to many species that live and travel in groups. And as knowledge is just as vital to the preservation of a species as its genetic blueprint, the results may have far-reaching applications for conservation.
Dora Biro completed her PhD at the University of Oxford before undertaking postdoctoral positions both there and at Kyoto University. She is currently a Royal Society University Research Fellow at Oxford. The fellowship will help Dora to develop a new generation of GPS tracking devices and perform innovative field experiments, publicise her work at international conferences and visit collaborators. It will also provide logistical support for reconciling her work and family commitments which are split between Oxford and her partner’s location.
Dr Lourdes Basabe-Desmonts, Dublin City University
To undertake research into developing a novel technique to analyse and screen stem cell differentiation
Dr Lourdes Basabe-Desmonts will use her For Women In Science Fellowship to support her research at the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, Dublin City University. Her work will focus on a high throughput platform for label-free detection of biochemical pathways involved in the differentiation of stem cells.
Adult stem cells have great potential as cell sources for regenerative medicine. In particular, the potential for mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to differentiate into multiple phenotypes - like fat, cartilage and bone - make them ideal building blocks for bone and cartilage tissue engineering in orthopaedics and rheumatology. However, the development of reproducible methods to control stem cell growth and differentiation is still a challenge and major studies are needed before stem cells can be widely used for therapeutic purposes. Continuous monitoring of the differentiation process of stem cells is of great importance for the development of cell-based regenerative medicine therapies and is extremely novel.
Lourdes Basabe-Desmonts has an impressive capacity to translate high quality basic science into pragmatic solutions for clinical application. With this project she will develop a new label-free biomolecular detection method, based on a technique called Plasmon Resonance Energy Transfer (PRET), to monitor biochemical pathways involved in the differentiation of stem cells. Her research will produce a unique, robust platform that allows for the first time high sensitivity detection of biomarkers without cell manipulation, with high temporal resolution, and for long continuous periods of time.
Lourdes Basabe-Desmonts is a Research Fellow at the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute, Dublin City University, her location of choice since 2006. Her background and experience covers a range of different fields and skills from chemistry to (bio)materials science and microfluidic devices. The fellowship will allow her to spend some time in California, USA to learn pioneering techniques and collaborate with two leading research groups at University of California, Berkeley and Stanford Medical School.
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The winners of the four 2010 UK and Ireland Fellowships For Women In Science
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Dr Dora Biro, University of Oxford
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Dr Lourdes Basabe-Desmonts, Dublin City University
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Dr Nathalie Pettorelli, Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London
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Dr Pia Mukherjee, University of Sussex
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The winners of the four 2010 UK and Ireland Fellowships For Women In Science
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The winners of the four 2010 UK and Ireland Fellowships For Women In Science with partner organisations, L'Oreal UK and Ireland, UK National Commission for UNESCO and the Royal Institution
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The 2010 UK and Ireland For Women In Science Fellowship Jury Panel. l-r, top: Professor Gillian Gehring; Julie McManus; Baroness Susan Greenfield CBE (Jury Chair). l-r, bottom: Professor Alec Boksenberg CBE FRS; Professor Anne Glover CBE; Dr Gail Cardew; Professor Luke O’Neill
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