Assoc. Prof. Ina Aneva, Dr. Mariya Kalapsazova and Nina Stoyanova-Nankova from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences are this year’s winners of the national fellowship “For Women in Science” for Bulgaria. The prestigious distinction was awarded to them for their ground-breaking scientific projects at an official ceremony in Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
The “For Women in Science” fellowships are one of the most renowned and highly anticipated scientific awards in Bulgaria, granted each year by L’Oréal and UNESCO to young women scientists. The awards aim to support their research careers as well as motivate them to reach their full potential for scientific discovery. This year’s three winners were honoured for their original, ground-breaking research projects with an award of €5000 each, each of the projects being impressive for their high potential for global applicability.
The project with which Nina Stoyanova-Nankova impressed the jury of “For Women in Science” 2021 focuses on the study of the plant Graptopetalum paraguayense and its potential medicinal properties against human coronaviruses. The interest of Nina and the team of scientists she works with in this traditional Taiwanese plant was sparked by the low levels of Covid-morbidity and lethality recorded in Taiwan since the pandemic began. At the heart of her project is the idea that this plant, which Taiwanese consume daily, is the reason for these higher levels of immunity in the local population. This makes Nina’s project not only interesting but also extremely relevant and of great global importance. Nina Stoyanova-Nankova is currently an assistant professor at the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry at BAS and is part of Lab. of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry.
Dr. Mariya Kalapsazova is the name of the second fellowship recipient under the For Women in Science programme this year. She is currently a senior assistant professor at the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry at BAS, having completed her graduate studies at UCTM – Sofia. Her research activities and the project that won her the award are focused on developing more efficient and cheaper materials for green energy storage and in particular aim at inventing innovative sodium-ion batteries. Mariya’s research falls into one of the fastest growing themes today, namely large-scale deployment of renewable energy which is among the priorities of the European Green Pact. Her scientific career includes specialisations in world-leading research organisations in electrochemistry and energy systems, and she is also an active member of the International Younger Chemists Network.
The third recipient of the 2021 “For Women in Science” Fellowship – Assoc. Prof. Ina Aneva, is one of the most progressive young scientists of BAS. She is an Associate Professor in the Applied Botany Section of the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research and is a Scientific Secretary of the Academy. In her relatively short scientific career (10 years), she has been actively involved in the implementation of 37 scientific projects, of 8 of which she has been the leader. The project that won Ina the 2021 “For Women in Science” Fellowship focuses on investigating the medicinal properties of plants such as Mursal Tea in relation to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s.
All of us here today share the belief that investment in science and education cannot tolerate austerity, Vice President Iliana Iotova said at the award ceremony. She cited data showing that in 2020 spending on research and development accounted for just 0.9% of Bulgaria’s GDP. By comparison, the EU average is 2.3, with Belgium and Sweden being the best performers with 3.5 percent of GDP.
The development of women in science over the years is impressive, said the President of BAS Prof. Julian Revalski, Full Member of the Academy. Their efforts in the last 20 years in Bulgaria have been an incredible success, he added and recalled that almost 50% were the ladies in the scientific sphere in Bulgaria while in BAS they were about 55%.
In his speech, Prof. Revalski stressed the importance of encouraging the development of young scientists. In the last two years, scientists have shown in the fight against COVID why it is necessary for a country to have world-class researchers – they are part of national sovereignty, said the President of BAS.
The ombudsman Assoc. Prof. Dr. Diana Kovacheva, the ambassador of France to Bulgaria H.E. Florence Robin, representatives of the Management Board of BAS and the scientific community attended the ceremony which was broadcast live on YouTube.
The entire ceremony, which also honoured the 2020 Fellows, can be watched here.
More information about the Fellows can be found in the special digital brochure for them here.
This year the fellowship programme “For Women in Science” is held in Bulgaria for the 11th time in a row in partnership between L’Oréal Bulgaria, SU “St. Kliment Ohridski” and the National Commission for UNESCO – Bulgaria. UNESCO Programme for Bulgaria. Since its inception in 1998, “For Women in Science” continues to be the only global programme of its kind fighting for gender equality in science (women still represent only 33%* of researchers worldwide). Over the past 23 years, “For Women in Science” has supported and honoured more than 3600 women scientists in over 110 countries.
The new twelfth edition of “For Women in Science” is set to launch in a few weeks with the opening of applications for 2022 in search of the most talented Bulgarian women scientists.
