Gordana Vunjak-Novaković, a Serbian-American bioengineer and pioneer of regenerative medicine, a professor at Columbia University, is the winner of one of the world’s most prestigious scientific recognitions – the famous L’Oréal-UNESCO “For Women in Science” International Award, which is awarded for revolutionary research with a major impact on the future of science.
The L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO announced today the names of this year’s laureates of the award, which is received every year by only five of the most eminent women researchers in the world. These recognitions have been awarded since 1998 and are considered one of the most important international programs for promoting the achievements of women in science.
Gordana Vunjak-Novaković won this recognition for the geographic region of North America, where she lives and works, and she was awarded for her outstanding work in the field of bioengineering of human tissues, with the aim of transforming medicine and improving human health. At a formal ceremony to be held in Paris on June 11, she will receive the award along with four other female scientists who are laureates for Africa and the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The L’Oréal-UNESCO “For Women in Science” International Award recognizes and promotes the scientific excellence of outstanding world female scientists, and among the previous laureates, seven of them received the Nobel Prize after receiving this award. This year’s selection highlights the crucial role of the five laureates in solving global health and environmental challenges: from revolutionary tissue engineering and genomic research, to innovations in the field of agriculture and the impact of nutrition on mental health.
Professor Gordana Vunjak-Novaković was born in Belgrade, graduated from the Zemun Gymnasium, and received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy in Belgrade, where she was also a professor. She specialized in biomedical engineering as a Fulbright scholar at MIT in Boston. Today, she holds the title of University Professor, the highest academic rank at Columbia University. Professor Vunjak-Novaković is a world pioneer in bioengineering, whose work on growing human tissues under laboratory conditions shifts the boundaries of regenerative medicine. As the most cited female scientist of Serbian origin of all time, and the first female engineer to hold the title of University Professor in the history of Columbia University, she is also a prominent mentor who actively works on empowering women in science around the world.
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Source: Serbian Times, Photo: FWIS / Cecile Burban