Data scientist Daiane Aparecida Zuanetti, professor at the Federal University of São Carlos (Ufscar), was the winner in the Mathematics category of the 17th edition of the program For Women in Science, an initiative promoted by the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) in partnership with L ‘Oréal and UNESCO.
The objective is to promote and recognize female participation in science, encouraging gender parity. To allow the continuation of her studies, the scientist was awarded a scholarship of $50,000 – the same amount received by the other six winner.
The project developed by Zuanetti seeks to propose effective and efficient statistical methods for describing trends and making predictions from genetic data, analyzing RNA sequences found in single cells, that is, analyzed individually, and not en masse.
The prediction is that the new computational methodologies will be publicly disclosed, to allow access to the scientific community. The idea is for the innovations to be applied not only in the area of human health, but also in research on animal health and genetic improvement of plants for agriculture.
The award ceremony will be held at L’Oréal’s headquarters in Rio de Janeiro on November 30. Throughout its 17 editions, the initiative recognized the relevance of the work of 117 Brazilian scientists, with the distribution of more than $4.7 million in grants.
In addition to Mathematics, the For Women in Science program selected four winners in the area of Life Sciences: researcher from the University of Pernambuco, Patrícia Takako Endo; pharmacist-biochemist Tathiane Malta, from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, pharmacist Gisely Cardoso de Melo, researcher at the Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado (AM); and biologist Grazielle Sales Teodoro, a researcher at the Federal University of Pará.
In the area of Chemical Sciences, the winner was chemist Giovana Anceski Bataglion; while in Physical Sciences, the winner was Fernanda Selingardi Matias, a researcher at the Federal University of Alagoas.
The main criteria for evaluating the candidates were the scientific quality and impact of current and previous research, productivity and the potential for success of the projects.
The general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, was one of the members of the jury, composed of researchers nominated by ABC, a representative of Unesco and a representative of L’Oréal. The jury is chaired by ABC director Helena Nader.
In the 2018 edition, the Italian Luna Lomonaco, IMPA researcher, was one of the seven winners. In 2020, professor at Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) María Amelia Salazar, who did her PhD at IMPA between 2014 and 2017, was the winner in the Mathematics category.
