Dr Ieva Plikusienė Receives Prestigious L'Oréal Foundation and UNESCO International Rising Talent Award

The L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards ceremony ended in Paris - the prestigious International Rising Talents Award went to Lithuanian scientist Associate Professor Dr Ieva Plikusienė. This prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award is awarded each year to the 15 most promising scientists in the world whose research can change the world. I. Plikusienė was awarded for a breakthrough in research on the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 proteins and antibodies.

A special awards ceremony took place in Paris during the For Women in Science week. It is part of the L’Oréal-UNESCO programme, which aims to promote gender equality in this field and honor women’s contribution to the development of science. Throughout the week, the world’s leading female scientists shared their experience and knowledge, took part in leadership training, networking events, and an extraordinary lecture at the Academy of Sciences.

The past three years’ winners attended the awards ceremony on Wednesday. 15 promising scientists from around the world have won the international L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science awards for outstanding scientific achievements in recent years, and 30 young female scientists selected in 2020 and 2022 have earned the title of international rising talent.

“The week of events and the awards ceremony were truly special. I got the opportunity to meet and interact with exceptional female scientists from around the world who solve the most pressing scientific problems. The lectures given at the French Academy of Sciences by female scientists who have been awarded for their lifelong work, their speeches and personal stories were extremely inspiring. It was a great honor for me to represent Lithuania and accept this award at the UNESCO headquarters, it was a very exciting moment. I got a great opportunity to show that even though we are a small country, we, Lithuanians, do really important, world-class research,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr I Plikusienė, who works at Nanotechnas Center for Nanotechnologies and Materials Science of Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Vilnius University.

She received the prestigious award for studying the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 proteins and specific antibodies using a new generation of optical-acoustic sensors. Applying these sensors and mathematical models allows for obtaining a lot of valuable information about the interactions between antibodies and antigens, the formation of the protein-antibody complex in real time and its stability, and the spatial distribution of proteins. All of this can be used not only to develop immune sensors in laboratories but also to select the most appropriate antibodies and antigens for rapid tests, and to select the most appropriate proteins and antibodies for drugs or vaccines against COVID-19.

Furthermore, these sensors can be used to detect and test other biologically active substances, such as cancer markers or the like.
Since 2014, the International Rising Talent Awards have been awarded to young female scientists at the most important stage of their careers, whose research helps solve the most important problems facing humanity. The winners are selected by an international panel of national and regional fellows from the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme.

Along with the honorable award, the scientists receive €15,000 to help them deepen their excellence and strengthen their contribution to societal and scientific progress.

“In Poland and the Baltic States, the four local programmes we have are of a very high standard, and their winners are also recognized by the international scientific community. This year the recognition went to not only Assoc. Prof. Dr Ieva Plikusienė from Lithuania but also to Polish scientist Dr Karolina Mikulska-Ruminska, who received this prestigious award for research into ferroptosis (an iron-dependent regulated form of cell death associated with various diseases). I congratulate them and am very pleased that we have been supporting the development of women’s scientific careers for many years,” said Valéry Gaucherand, Head of HUB L'Oréal in Poland and the Baltic States.

This is the second time that the International Rising Talent Award has been awarded to a Lithuanian scientist. In 2019, it was awarded to neuroscientist Dr Urtė Neniškytė, a researcher at the Department of Neurobiology and Biophysics at Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University.

L’Oréal-UNESCO programme For Women in Science has been working to honor and support female scientists at key moments in their lives, making a significant contribution to the development of science and gender equality in this field. In the 24 years of the programme, more than 3.9 thousand young women have received support to pursue their most important career aspirations. At the regional level, L'Oréal-UNESCO awards scholarships in 110 countries, including all three Baltic States.