International Day of Women in Science: biochemistry, medicine, nuclear power… portraits of six scientists from Occitanie

Portraits of scientists in Occitania. – Clémence Losfeld/Jean-Charles Caslot

This Sunday, February 11, 2024, is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, an opportunity to honor several figures from Occitania. Six researchers from the region explain to us how they have advanced their field, and why it is important for women to take control of it.

Women in science are in the spotlight this Sunday. Decades after Marie Curie, Ada Lovelace, Sally Ride… Midi Libre presents six scientists from the region. They tell us about their work and the importance for women to break glass ceilings. 

Claude Grison: "Do what you are passionate about"

"I think that when you are a woman, it's more difficult to carry out scientific studies." Winner of the European Inventor Prize 2022and the CNRS 2014 innovation prize, signet ring of the Legion of Honor… biochemist Claude Grison has managed to use flora to clean sites ultra-polluted by heavy metals. The height of its ecological revolution, the plants are then reused for pharmaceutical or cosmetic purposes.

Claude Grison. DR.

Passionate about nature, at 63 years old, she is considered a pioneer in her field of research, a success that she attributes to her perseverance and pugnacity: & quot;Women are often fighters, they are not easily discouraged. They work for convictions, values… it's a great force." 

The "magnificent Cévennes", the "rich" nature of Occitanie, the seaside… led the scientist to the world of the tiny: "I was interested in All. I looked at insects, plants, and I wanted to move to a smaller scale, down to molecules. To aspiring scientists, she advises a frenzied approach: "Do what you like, do what speaks to you, do what fascinates you. And if you put in the effort, you'll succeed."

Aurora Pignata: "Representativeness is a global issue"

Winner of the  "Young talents" prize from l'Oréal-Unesco in 2023, Aurora Pignata devotes her scientific research to the study of chronic inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). The pathology today affects more than 120,000 people in France. Its results suggest that ultimately, new types of treatments could be considered.

Also read: HEALTH RECORD. "We have made immense progress" : treatments, diagnoses… where is the research on multiple sclerosis

If she is not working in the field – with patients and treatments – her goal is to better understand the disease: "The fact that It affects a lot of young women and motivates me. I am a young woman myself."

Aurora Pignata. L’Oréal Foundation – Clémence Losfeld

Originally from Italy, Aurora Pignata passed through several university establishments before arriving at the Toulouse Institute of Infectious Diseases, sometimes encountering the complacency of some: "I was led to believe that girls could not pursue scientific studies. I was never supported by my male teachers. I experienced with a certain uneasiness the dominant-dominated relationship that was taking place."

According to l'Unesco, there are only 28  % of women among researchers in the world, a deficiency which plagues the scientific sphere: "To deprive yourself of this diversity is to deprive of crucial resources. The representation of women in science is a global issue." 

Marie Villares: "The journey is strewn with pitfalls"

Originally from the Pyrénées-Orientales, the brilliant winner of the prize "Young talents" l'Oréal-Unesco 2021 did part of his studies in Montpellier. She started working at the Surdouée Infectiology Research Institute in 2023. On a daily basis, she looks for links between cancer and certain infections.

Marie Villares. Jean-Charles Caslot

Attracted by teaching, the 27-year-old researcher created an Instagram account, @ScienceMaVi, for popularize its research objects :"I started during the pandemic, there was a lot of information going in all directions. I wanted to give some keys so that people would understand. I make short videos where people in thesis explain concepts."

For young women who would like to embark on a scientific career, Marie Villarès advises arming themselves with perseverance and resilience: "There is a lot of reasons to give up all along the way. The higher you go, the fewer women there are. But it's worth it, every day we discover something that no one else knows."

Sabrina Berkane: "Nothing predestined me to nuclear power"

It was in Nîmes, in 2019, that Sabrina Berkane won second place in the FEM’Energia competition, which puts the spotlight on women in the energy sectors. However, she confides, "nothing predestined me to nuclear power. I did a BTS in negotiation and customer relations. I turned to the nuclear industry by meeting people who worked in this field. It fascinated me. 

Sabrina Berkane. DR.

The young woman completes the necessary diplomas and climbs the ladder. She becomes head of dismantling operations. She supervises teams to clean up nuclear sites: "I ensure that the operating procedure is well followed, that there are no of risks, that the rules are respected, that it is done on time." 

"Women bring rigor and a good sense of communication. Today, more and more people are working in the sector, explains the thirty-year-old who retrained 10 years ago. While only 22.4% of nuclear workers are women, Sabrina Berkane maintains that there are "totally their place". 

Manon Cairat: "I was marked by a mentor"

"I work on the impact of drugs on human health. It's pharmaco-epidemiology". The 30-year-old from Perpignan is interested in the side effects of certain molecules, inspired fifteen years ago by a resounding scandal: le Médiator.< /p>

Also read: UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING. Origin, prosecution, appeal trial… we explain the Mediator scandal to you in 10 points

When in 2009, pulmonologist Irène Frachon raised the alarm about the drug which caused the death of 1,000 to 2,000 people, Manon Cairat discovered a passion for pharmacovigilance: & quot;It can be difficult to project yourself into these professions, we don't necessarily have models." She will begin her studies in Montpellier, before # 39;go to Paris, then to Lyon. 

Manon Cairat. Clemence Losfeld

"I was mentored by a woman, with whom I love working, it's important to get along well ;#39;surround", she suggests, "I would be interested in going to educational establishments to encourage vocations". In 2023, she is the winner of the prize "Young talents" from the L'Oréal foundation. "We can do it. You have to get started. Women may have a tendency to censor themselves, it's important to tell ourselves that science is also for us."

Laura Poillet: "As a woman, we dare less"

In 2022, Laura Poillet received the Olga Sain/Comi prize before starting to work at Inserm, in Toulouse. The sine qua non condition for receiving the prize: present promising work for the treatment of patients.

Laura Poillet. Jean-Charles Caslot – Jean-Charles Caslot

His field of research, cancer, focuses on therapeutic resistance in cases of acute leukemias. "It's a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. There are a lot of relapses, we are trying to understand why and how to treat them, explains the researcher, who explains to us that she turned towards this area to < em> "feeling useful". 

At 34, she works at the Cancer Research Center in Toulouse, a job that she carries out alongside her "life as a mother& quot;. "I often had the impression that more was being asked of me. You had to be at work a lot, at home a lot, you had to master that scale", the young woman remembers. 

"I have the impression that as a woman, we dare less", deplores the researcher. And yet, it seems to work. Laura Poillet remembers one of her models, a laboratory director who had succeeded in everything, she was a reference in her field, she had a life family too. She wasn't afraid of anything, she tried everything. 

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