Henkel names 3 winners of research award for female hair scientists

German chemical and consumer goods company Henkel has revealed the names of the first three winners of its research award recognising female scientists in the hair research field.

The "Martha Schwarzkopf Award for Women in Science", launched in February this year, was aimed at female researchers working in hair research with a background in medicine, natural sciences or computer sciences. Entrants stood to win the grand prize money of €10,000, as well as benefit from mentoring opportunities at Henkel, such as receiving professional support or an exchange with scientists to advance their work.

"Gender equality is of great importance to us at Henkel and it is a key element of our holistic diversity strategy. We have recently announced our ambitious goal of gender parity across all management levels at Henkel.

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"Unfortunately, women are also still underrepresented in the field of research and science. With the Martha Schwarzkopf Award, we are therefore committed to promoting talented women in science and supporting them in their research projects," said Sylvie Nicol, Chief Human Resources Officer at Henkel.

The applications were evaluated by an expert jury of female scientists with doctorates in hair research working at Henkel Beauty Care. The winners were announced at the award ceremony at the Henkel facility site in Hamburg, Germany.

"We are very pleased with the number of compelling and highly qualified applications we have received. For this reason, we decided within the expert jury to award not just one, but three female researchers and also to honour the second and third place with prize money”, said Andrea Sättler, Corporate Director R&D at Henkel Beauty Care and Chairwoman of the expert jury of the Martha Schwarzkopf Award.

The first place was awarded to Prof. Dr. hab. med. Lidia Rudnicka. She is the Chairwoman of the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of Warsaw in Poland and has contributed to hair research and hair and scalp diseases for more than 30 years.

!I am honoured and very happy to receive the Martha Schwarzkopf Award for Women in Science. It is an exceptional feeling for me to be recognized for my work of many years. I’d like to use the prize money of €10,000 to further develop my YouTube channel #NotJustHairDiseases to educate people about hair diseases," Rudnicka said.

The second prize of €5,000 went to Dr. rer. nat. Marta Bertolini, Chief Scientific Officer and Deputy Managing Director of Skin & Hair Research Solutions GmbH in Münster. She is a researcher with a particular interest in the metabolism of the hair follicle and the associated changes, especially affecting people with hair loss. 

Read more: New award for female researchers launched by Henkel

Third place went to dermatologist Andria Constantinou, who is currently pursuing her doctorate at Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The practising dermatologist proposed a research project to use artificial intelligence to analyse the changes in the microbiome, the natural microorganisms in and around the hair follicle, in the context of hair inflammation. She received €1,000 prize money as well as professional support from Henkel in the further development of her project.

"The winners’ diverse backgrounds, experiences and areas of research show just how diverse the field of hair research and the applications are. Yet they have one thing in common: their passion and outstanding talent for research," added Sättler.

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