Researchers with different responsibilities and careers in various fields tell their personal and professional experience in a colloquium.
The UN proclaimed 11 February as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in order to achieve full and equal access to and participation in science and gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. Therefore, hundreds of events are held throughout Spain with this objective.
The Oceanographic Foundation organised the colloquium "Women researchers, passion for science" with a format designed to bring the experiences of five women researchers to the public in a colloquial way. The event, included in the cycle "Beers with Science by Heineken", took place last Monday at the Hard Rock Café in Valencia, with a full capacity.
They are women who work with different responsibilities and professional careersin fields as diverse as food, genomics, or the fauna of the marine world and who are united by science and the desire to investigate.
The first of the participants was Amparo López, an agricultural engineer. She is a member of the IATA - CSIC and works in the development and characterization of materials for food applications. "We are currently working on several lines of research in the group focused on the recovery of waste to obtain ingredients for food and biodegradable packaging materials," she says.
The second is Laura Ramírez, a molecular biologist, who has spent 20 years in research and is responsible for the Genomics Service at the Príncipe Felipe Research Centre. In addition to the laboratory hours, she likes to collaborate with schools "to make science and the role that women have had in it visible". "I follow many science blogs because it helps me to know how to reach the youngest people because I firmly believe that dissemination is essential to reach the general public", she says.
The third is Chelo Rubio, a doctor in veterinary sciences, who researches from the Oceanographic Foundation, from the sea to the laboratory, virology in marine mammals and focuses her work on the diagnosis of ailments, immunity and animal welfare. From parents who are researchers, she has lived science since she was a child. Now she practices it and lives it daily.
For her part, Alicia Borque, who has a degree in Biology, has collaborated in the promotion of Marine Biology and now investigates the physiology of the respiratory system of different marine mammals with which she is fully fulfilling her dream. "I realized that I not only wanted to know, but also to be part of a great movement to protect nature, in which we share every small advance and success with true professionals and with our charismatic marine protagonists, without the chief of whom it would be possible to carry out our research," she says.
The last researcher to share her experience is Mar Felipo, a graduate in Veterinary Medicine who researches immunology in marine mammals. "From a deep respect for animals and an innate vocation to protect them, I became a veterinarian," she explains. "Then I went into research and I wanted to do my bit to learn about the effects of anthropogenic pollution on the animals of the marine ecosystem, with the ultimate aim of raising awareness of the important task of protecting our planet," she concludes.