Helena TEIXERA, post-doc at the University of La Réunion, winner of the Young Talents Prize for Women and Science
Each year, the L'Oréal Foundation, in partnership with the Academy of Sciences and the French National Commission for UNESCO, awards the Young Talents Prize for Women and Science France 2023 to 35 young researchers. And so that their scientific excellence can inspire future generations, a meeting between these 35 winners and high school students from Ile-de-France is organized at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie on October 12.
Today in France, women are still too little present in scientific research: they represent only 29%1 of researchers, compared to 33,3% globally2. In addition, they encounter difficulties in pursuing their scientific career and gaining the recognition they deserve. In
In Europe, for example, only a quarter3 of high academic positions are held by women, and less than 4% of scientific Nobel Prizes have been awarded to women worldwide.
This year, two winners come from the mixed research unit (UMR) Tropical Marine Ecology of the Pacific and Indian Oceans ENTROPIE (IRD, University of La Réunion, Ifremer, CNRS, University of New Caledonia).
They are Cinzia ALESSI, doctoral student at the University of New Caledonia and Heléna TEIXEIRA, post-doctoral student within the UMR ENTROPIE at the University of Réunion.
Helena Teixeira studies how environmental changes (volcanic activity, climate change and the impact of human activities) have brought a species of seabird endemic to the island to the brink of extinction. One more step in an international journey which took her from studies in biotechnology in Portugal to a thesis in evolutionary biology in Germany.
Very committed to biodiversity, she is interested in the mechanisms behind the decline of species. Here we transcribe his interview, carried out by the L'Oréal Foundation.
Understanding the causes of extinction of animal species to preserve biodiversity
What are the short and long term challenges of your research and its applications?
Faced with the current environmental emergency, my research helps improve our knowledge of how species responded to past environmental disturbances, and thus better identify the main drivers of population decline. The results of my project
will thus make it possible to develop more effective conservation plans for threatened species.
Why did you choose a scientific career?
I have always been passionate about biodiversity. I felt the need to understand why there were no chimpanzees in Portugal or why wolves lived in a very organized social system. My undergraduate internship, which focused on the genetic study of the Iberian wolf, confirmed my fascination with
evolutionary biology. Today I'm working with a species of seabird that was declared extinct, but was rediscovered in the 70s. Isn't that incredible?
In your career, have you encountered any difficulties as a woman?
Although biology is one of the scientific fields with the best ratio of women, it is still difficult to make a career in it. The number of management positions is very limited and mainly occupied by men. Many national competitions now take into account gender equality, a first step towards better representation of women in science.
However, the field is so competitive that it is difficult to combine private and professional life. Programs like L'Oréal-UNESCO are essential to encourage women to pursue careers.