This year, the scientists Nathalie Zithoni and Edith Naor were chosen as the Israeli brides of the prize, winners of a financial scholarship of NIS 50,000 each, and nominated on behalf of Israel for the 2013 international scholarship - which Israeli women scientists have won for the past three years in a row.
Tonight (Tuesday, 23.7.2013) the annual ceremony for the awarding of the UNESCO - L'Oreal Prizes "For Women in Science" - Israel 2013 will be held, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot; the Minister of Science, Technology and Space, Member of Knesset Ya'akov Perry; the bride of the Israel Prize and the president Academy of Sciences, Prof. Ruth Arnon, and many other dignitaries - including Prof. Hagit Yaron Messer, The president of the Open University, Ms. Claude Breitman, Shalom and Ziva Zeidler, and many other dignitaries will host the ceremony - L'Oreal Israel's board chairman, and Nava Ravid - CEO of L'Oreal Israel.
The Israeli Committee for UNESCO and L'Oréal Israel have been collaborating for years to promote young women scientists in Israel, following an extensive global collaboration between L'Oréal and UNESCO "For Women In Science" - L'ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women In Science. This partnership, created in 1998, aims to recognize the contribution of prominent women scientists to scientific progress and to encourage the participation of women in scientific research.
The prize winners for 2013 are:
• Edith Naor, a biology and genetics scientist from Tel Aviv University, for her research in the field of Toxoplasma parasites - the most effective parasite in the world, capable of infecting any warm-blooded creature, regardless of its type or stage of development. The research will be carried out by Edith at Stanford University - USA.
• Natalie Zithoni, structural biology scientist from Ben-Gurion University, for her research in the field of infection systems of pathogenic bacteria, especially in the field of tuberculosis bacteria. The research will be carried out by Natalie at the University of British Columbia in Canada.
The female scientists win a cash prize of NIS 50,000 each, and will also be the Israeli nominee for the 2013 UNESCO-L'Oréal World Prize "For Women in Science". It should be noted that in the last three years in a row, three young female scientists have won the prestigious prize - making Israel a kind of "powerhouse" in the prize this.
The Israeli jury that selected the Israeli nominations for research support and international recognition is composed of senior and world-renowned Israeli scientists: the chairman of the jury is Prof. Ruth Arnon, laureate of the Israel Prize and the president of the Academy of Sciences, the Weizmann Institute. The jury consists of Prof. Ada Yonat, laureate of the Peres Prize "Nobel" and Israel Prize, Prof. Rivka Carmi, President of Ben Gurion University; Prof. Hagit Yaron-Messer, president of the Open University and Prof. Efrat Levy-Lahad, head of the department of genetic medicine at Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
It should be noted that in 2008, even before she won the "Nobel" prize, Prof. Ada Yonat became the first Israeli to win the L'Oréal-UNESCO prize "for women in science".
The Minister of Science, MK Yaakov Perry, said: "This evening, the fruit of the extraordinary collaboration of UNESCO and L'Oréal, marking 15 years of work and promoting women in the field of science, wishes to recognize the contribution of prominent women scientists and convey a clear and unambiguous message - encouragement "Participating women in scientific research is both a global and a business challenge, and in the context of Israel, it is a first-rate national and social interest that must stand at the feet of the state and the private sector."
Nava Ravid, CEO of L'Oreal Israel, said: "The scientist is curious by nature, seeks the truth and tries to distinguish things that are not real. He has the ability to abstract and is also ambitious and competitive. Anyone who is intellectually and emotionally capable of meeting these criteria can engage in science regardless of biological sex, male or female, and everything else is 'popular mythology' that has become a reality that we all try and even succeed - at a too slow pace - to change. The triangle - L'Oreal, science, and women - is a winning and inseparable triangle, and if it does not come easily, it must be pushed forward. L'Oreal Israel, like in other countries, pushes and will push it forward because L'Oreal works for women. Women need science and science needs women and the difficulty only challenges us more."
