With International Women’s Day just around the corner, on March 8th, The Foundation L’Oréal and UNESCO have revealed the winners of the 22nd International For Women in Science Awards.
This year, they honor five exceptional women scientists from diverse regions of the world and among them two Lebanese scientists: Professor Abla Mehio Sibai and Dr. Laura-Joy Bolous.
The first Lebanese honoree is Dr. Abla Mehio Sibai, an AUB Professor of Epidemiology at the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Dr. Sibai is being honored for her pioneering research and advocacy to improve healthy aging in low- and middle-income countries and their impact on health and social policy programs.
The second Lebanese scientist who is also duly honored is Dr. Laura-Joy Boulos, holder of a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
An expert in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, Dr. Boulos who was an R&D consultant at one point, is an Assistant Professor at Saint-Joseph University in Beirut. She has been recognized alongside 14 Rising Talents, young women scientists from all over the world.
Back in September 2019, Dr. Bolous was among the “six most brilliant women scientists” awarded the 2019 L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Levant Fellowship.
Her recognition ensued from her project about creating tools from neuroscience and artificial intelligence to assist humans in making decisions under uncertainty.
Since 1998, L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO have granted Awards For Women in Science, which honor yearly five exceptional female scientists from different regions of the world.
This year, it is awarding these 5 women scientists for the excellence of their work. They were selected in the field of Life Sciences, including biotechnology, ecology, epigenetics, epidemiology, and infectiology, a medical specialty dealing with the diagnosis, control, and treatment of infections.
Each of the five laureates will receive €100,000 and will be recognized alongside 15 talented young women scientists from across the world, during a ceremony at UNESCO House in Paris, on March 12th, 2020.
Lebanon doesn’t lack outstanding minds working to make the world a better place for humans, even if our country lacks the ‘system’ to tap into these human assets of ours to make Lebanon a better place to live.
Among these amazing minds, Dr. Najat Aoun, who was elected the 2019 Laureate for Africa and the Arab States in the 21st edition of “For Women in Science” international Awards.
Dr. Saliba is a senior professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and the Director of the AUB-Nature Conservation Center (AUB-NCC). She was the first Lebanese female scientist who resides and works in Lebanon to win that prestigious award.