A Montreal scientist and five promising Canadian women researchers honoured and rewarded at L’Oréal–UNESCO 

For Women in Science ceremony

Montreal, November 26 2024 –Montreal researcher Nada Jabado was recognized as the 2024 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate for North America and five promising Canadian women researchers were honoured and rewarded at a ceremony held at the French Embassy in Canada in Ottawa yesterday in the presence of Mr. Michel Miraillet, Ambassador of France to Canada.

THE INTERNATIONAL L'ORÉAL-UNESCO FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE AWARDS 

Dr. Nada Jabado is Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Human Genetics, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Oncology at McGill University, Senior Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and Pediatric Hemato-Oncologist at the Montreal Children's Hospital. She has been recognized for revolutionizing our understanding of the genetic defects responsible for brain tumors in children as well as for setting up a global collaborative network which has advanced diagnosis and clinical treatment for young cancer patients. Prof. Jabado joins the international L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science community, made up of 4100 women researchers, seven of whom have won a Nobel Prize.

Every year, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards honour an exceptional woman from each of the five broad regions: Africa and the Arab States; Asia and the Pacific; Europe; Latin America and the Caribbean; and North America.

Through the excellence of their work, they demonstrate that science needs women more than ever, for example to meet major public health challenges, at a time when cancer cases could increase by 77% by 2050 worldwide.

(Source: World Health Organization)

THE CANADIAN L'ORÉAL-UNESCO FOR WOMEN IN SCIENCE FELLOWS

Since 2003, L'Oréal Canada and the Canadian Commission for UNESCO have been rewarding young doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, awarding $60,000 CAD in research fellowships each year. 

The L'Oréal-UNESCO 2024 Research Excellence Fellowships, valued at $20,000 each, are awarded to support major post-doctoral research projects undertaken by young Canadian women at a pivotal moment in their careers. They reward excellence and enable the best scientists, selected by a committee of experts, to pursue their research. Yves-Gérard Méhou-Loko, Secretary-General of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, had the pleasure of presenting them to:

- Marie-Pier Hébert, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Environmental sciences and Aquatic ecology at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) and University of Vermont. Marie-Pier is an environmental scientist specialized in freshwater and global change ecology. Over the last 15 years, she developed a growing interest and sense of care for freshwater ecosystems, especially lakes, and the small living things inhabiting them. She tries to better understand how lakes work, change across seasons, and respond to global environmental changes, to ultimately evaluate how this knowledge can be used to anticipate our future.

- Morgan Pickak, Liber Ero and NSERC postdoctoral fellow at Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Dalhousie University, for her work investigating the spatial ecology of imperiled Atlantic mackerel and impacts associated with global sea warming. Her research will not only result in furthered understanding of Canadian mackerel, but the methods and findings will be also applicable to other stocks of mackerel around the globe, which are also declining.

A $10,000 supplement from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science 2024 program was awarded by Prof. Alejandro Adem, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, to a Canadian scientist involved in a promising research project:

- Sophia Waddell, Post-doctoral Fellow at Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) and McGill University for her work in astronomy, exploring growing supermassive black holes using space-based X-ray telescopes. 

In collaboration with the France Canada Research Fund (FCRF), two fellowships of $5,000 each to encourage and develop scientific and academic exchanges between France and Canada were awarded by Martine Lagacé, FCRF Co-President. The L'Oréal Canada France Canada Research Fund 2024 Fellows are:

- Samar Muslemani, a doctoral candidate in health sciences at the Université de Sherbrooke and clinical occupational therapist at the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean for her work which focuses on the impact of central nervous system impairements on the activities of daily living of people living with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). In this region of Quebec, certain rare genetic diseases, such as neuromuscular disorders, are more common than elsewhere. 

- Elisabeth Thibaudeau, assistant professor at the School of Psychology at Université Laval and a researcher at the Cervo Brain Research Centre, for her research focusing on the use of digital technologies such as virtual reality and teletherapy to support the cognitive and social health of individuals with psychotic disorders. Her work is deeply rooted in a recovery-oriented approach, involving individuals with lived experiences of psychotic disorders as co-researchers.

These five Fellows will also be invited to participate in the L'Oréal Canada For Girls in Science mentoring program, in partnership with UNESCO schools in Canada and Let's Talk Science, where they will encourage girls' scientific vocations at the high school level, shatter myths about scientific careers and, hopefully, inspire others to follow in their footsteps to make the world a better, more inclusive place.

26 YEARS OF EMPOWERING WOMEN IN SCIENCE

Today, women still only account for one in three researchers globally (33%) according to UNESCO data¹, a proportion that has changed little over the past 10 years². 

Furthermore, the glass ceiling remains a reality – only a quarter of scientific leadership roles are held by women in Europe and just 7,5% of Nobel Prizes for science were awarded to women since their creation.

For 26 years, the Fondation L’Oréal and UNESCO have worked together to promote gender equality in science through the For Women in Science International Awards and the Young Talents Programmes covering more than 140 countries, shining the spotlight on female scientists and contributing to breaking the glass ceiling in science. 

For An Verhulst-Santos, President and CEO of L'Oréal Canada: " More than ever, the world needs science, and science needs women to meet the major challenges we face. L'Oréal Canada is very proud to celebrate the 21^st edition of the L’Oreal UNESCO Women in Science prizes. This recognition underscores the excellence and relevance of Canada's scientific community on the world stage, and I would like to warmly congratulate these six incredible scientists for the profound impact of their work. "

About L'Oréal Canada

L'Oréal Canada is a subsidiary of the L'Oréal Group, the world leader in beauty, which manages 40 iconic beauty brands. Celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2023, the Canadian subsidiary includes a head office, a plant and a distribution center in Montreal, and employs over 1,450 people from 70 different nationalities. Its products are available in all distribution channels, including hair salons, department stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, medi-spas and e-commerce. Its raison d'être, to create beauty that moves the world forward, defines its vision of beauty that is inclusive, ethical, generous and responsible. With ambitious social and environmental commitments set out in the L'Oréal for the Future program, the subsidiary also actively supports Fondation L'Oréal programs such as L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science.

About Canadian Commission for UNESCO

The Canadian Commission for UNESCO (CCUNESCO) serves as a bridge between Canadians and the vital work of UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Through its networks and partners, the Commission promotes UNESCO’s values, priorities and programs in Canada and brings the voices of Canadian experts to the international stage. Its activities are guided by the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other UNESCO priorities. CCUNESCO operates under the authority of the Canada Council for the Arts.

PRESS CONTACT - L'ORÉAL CANADA

Virginie Hotte-Dupuis : [email protected]