NZ scientist wins major international award

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News release
February 22, 2007

New Zealand scientist wins major international award

University of Auckland professor Margaret Brimble has won one of the most prestigious awards in international science.

Professor Brimble has received one of only five laureates awarded in 2007 in the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. She is the first New Zealander ever to receive a Laureate.

Based in Paris and now in their ninth year, the annual awards recognise and encourage women scientists. Professor Brimble receives US$100,000 (NZ$145,000) for the award and travels to Paris for the awards ceremony at UNESCO headquarters.

L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureates are selected based on scientific excellence by a jury of eminent members of the international scientific community led by Günter Blobel who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1999.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is a United Nations agency working for world peace and international understanding through cooperation in education, natural and social sciences, culture and communications.

Professor Brimble (45) holds the Chair of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Auckland. She receives the Asia-Pacific Laureate award in materials science for her research on the synthesis of biologically active natural products that provide new lead compounds for the development of new drugs.

The main therapeutic areas that Professor Brimble’s research focuses on are treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease, peptic ulcer disease, anti-fungal agents and Alzheimer’s disease.

She describes her group’s work as a complex game of molecular chess whereby chemical reactions reproduce the complex chemical structures of nature.

By producing the molecules in the laboratory, improvements can be made and many similar yet unique molecules with even better biological activity can be used to develop new drugs.

Professor Brimble’s group comprises 13 PhD students, three honours students and several postdoctoral fellows.

“I am extremely honoured to receive this award which reflects not only the work I have been involved in, but also the contribution made by my research students at The University of Auckland.

“I hope this award will serve to stimulate added interest in science amongst young women of New Zealand, gain recognition for scientific excellence in our country and close the gender gap that exists in this rewarding field,” says Professor Brimble.

The L’Oréal-UNESCO awards partnership comprises five Laureates and 15 Fellowships. The Laureates are awarded to five eminent scientists for excellence in research with one from each of the world’s five major regions: Africa, Latin America, North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The Fellowships are granted to young women researchers, three from each of five geo-cultural regions of UNESCO. Three New Zealanders have been awarded Fellowships in the past but Professor Brimble is the nation’s first Laureate.

The annual L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards are designed to inspire new scientific vocations while overcoming the gender gap in the world of science and to promote excellence in scientific research.

Laureate nominations are submitted from each country via 2000 members of the global scientific community and UNESCO to the awards’ international jury for selection.

Professor Brimble receives her Laureate in Paris on February 22, 2007 at the L’Oréal-UNESCO presentation attended by 2,000 distinguished guests and also presents her research to her peers at the highly regarded French Academy of Science.

2007 L’OREAL-UNESCO LAUREATES

Asia/Pacific
Professor Margaret Brimble - Chair of Organic and Medicinal Chemistry, University of Auckland, New Zealand
For her contributions to the synthesis of complex natural products, especially shellfish toxins.

Africa
Professor Ameenah Gurib-Fakim - Professor of Organic Chemistry and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Mauritius, Mauritius.
For her exploration and analysis of plants from Mauritius, and their bio-medical applications.

Europe
Professor Tatiana Birshtein - Institute of Macromolecular compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, Russia
For her contribution to the understanding of the shapes, sizes and motions of large molecules.

Latin America
Professor Ligia Gargallo - Department of Physical Chemistry, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
For her contributions to understanding solution properties of polymers.

North America
Mildred Dresselhaus - Institute Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
For her research on solid state materials, including conceptualizing the creation of carbon nanotubes.

ENDS

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