Two Manchester researchers recognised in L'Oreal UNESCO for Women in Science programme
Dr Emma Fairbanks from the Department of Mathematics and Dr Micaela Chac贸n from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology have been recognised in the prestigious awards, aimed at keeping women in science.
The L鈥橭real UNESCO for Women in Science Young Talent programme recognises ten 鈥� five winners and five highly commended 鈥� outstanding early-career scientists in the fields of engineering, life sciences, mathematics and computer science, physical sciences and sustainable development.
This year, two Manchester researchers were recognised: Dr Emma Fairbanks, from the Department of Mathematics, who won the mathematics and computer science category for her work on modelling disease vectors, and Dr Micaela Chac贸n, who was highly commended in the sustainable development category for her research at the interface of environmental microbiology and biotechnology.
Dr Emma Fairbanks, Healthier Futures Research Fellow, Department of Mathematics
Emma鈥檚 work focuses on improving targeted interventions to reduce disease transmission in countries affected by malaria.
Traditional malaria-control models often assume homogeneous populations 鈥� made up of people with the same characteristics 鈥� or account only for age structure. Emma's models incorporate additional dimensions of heterogeneity, including occupation, housing quality and other socioeconomic variables.
These refined modelling approaches have shown how targeted interventions can be far more effective. For example, Emma demonstrated that Cambodia could reduce malaria infections with 60% less product through smarter targeting of preventative interventions.
Reflecting on the award, Emma said:
I was quite shocked to be honest; I wondered if they鈥檇 made a mistake. But it was nice to be recognised, especially as an interdisciplinary mathematician.
Dr Micaela Chac贸n, Research Fellow, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology
Micaela received highly commended up in the sustainable development category for her work on mixotrophy 鈥� a process where microbes can metabolise both organic carbon and carbon dioxide (CO2). This underexplored area has the potential to transform bioproduction by making it more efficient and sustainable.
Speaking about the recognition, she described the experience as 鈥渧alidating鈥�, and that 鈥渉aving your work recognised externally can help counter the quiet self-doubt that many researchers carry, particularly women鈥�.
She also added that she was proud that she applied because 鈥渙ften that is the biggest hurdle, believing you are good enough to put your name forward鈥�.
How the awards are helping women researchers
Both Emma and Micaela emphasised the value of the programme鈥檚 flexible funding, noting that it comes with fewer restrictions on how it can be used.
鈥淚 know that a lot of people will use the money to stay in academia by paying for childcare, or elder care. Anything that will keep a woman in science is what they鈥檒l fund,鈥� said Micaela.
Emma added that the funding helps researchers balance career pressures with life commitments.
鈥淯niversities often don鈥檛 realise the impact one or two-year contracts have on young women, especially if they are considering starting a family鈥�.
When asked how she would use the money Emma said she plans to invest in training and developing software interfaces so policymakers and medical practitioners can use her models to better target disease hotspots. The flexibility of the funding will also help her strengthen collaborations with partners in South America, Africa and Asia 鈥� places that are often overlooked by other funding schemes due to distance.
And some words of wisdom
When asked what advice they would give their younger selves, Emma said: 鈥渕ake the career you want. You might not have the most papers, but your work can still have impact. That, for me, is more successful than some of the traditional measures of success.鈥�
Micaela added 鈥渇ind an older woman, early, who will mentor you. There are still subtle challenges women face when navigating their scientific career, so, if you can learn from someone who has already done the navigating, that is invaluable鈥�.
Her final piece of advice: 鈥渏ust do it. Just put yourself out there. Failure isn鈥檛 something to fear 鈥� it鈥檚 one of the ways we learn how to succeed鈥�.