Scientist from Amazonas is among the 25 women in science in Latin America

Mencius Melo – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – The doctoral student from Amazonas, Larissa dos Anjos, is among the winners of the 3rd edition of “25 Women in Science Latin America”. The initiative is of the international company 3M and aims to highlight women who are dedicated to science in the promotion and development of projects. Brazil is represented by eight researchers from seven states. The team also includes professionals from Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, and Mexico. The announcement was made last Friday, February 10, in celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023, which took place on Saturday, February 11.

According to 3M, the idea is to give greater visibility to scientific initiatives and their positive impacts on society, from the application of STEM disciplines that in Portuguese means: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The award aims to encourage girls, young women and women in Latin American countries, since these areas are predominantly dominated by men. According to UNESCO data, worldwide, women represent only 35% of those who pursue higher education in STEM and are less than 30% of scientific researchers.

CENARIUM MAGAZINE interviewed scientist Larissa dos Anjos to learn more details about her inclusion in the team of Latin American women scientists and about her professional background: “I have a master’s degree in Geography from the Federal University of Amazonas (Ufam) and I am a doctoral candidate at the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU). At the moment I am dedicated to my doctoral research”, she detailed.

Project and research

When asked about what exactly her project proposes, she describes: “It is a proposal of geographic health planning. It is the development of a research on the geographic access to health in amphibian environments in the Brazilian Amazon. The research aims to conduct a socio-environmental survey of the area and propose possible solutions for access to health for the region’s traditional populations, bringing as the model the floodplains of the municipality of Iranduba, Manaquiri, and Careiro da Várzea, in Amazonas,” explains Larissa Anjos.

The scientist shares that being among the 25 scientists in Latin America, according to the 3rd edition of the “25 Women in Science Latin America”, is a feeling of victory and recognition: “I feel valued by the recognition”, celebrates Larissa, who also mentions about the next steps related to projects and research: “At the moment I am dedicating myself to the doctoral research and, in the future, I intend to launch a platform with information about the results of my work. Wait for it!”, she said.

Platform

The 25 winning women scientists will be part of a scientific visibility platform, with the inclusion of their projects in the commemorative book “25 Women in Science Latin America”, and will have their trajectories and projects published in the 3M Curiosities Blog and in the company’s social networks.

About 3M

3M believes science can help create a better world for everyone. The company harnesses the power of people, ideas and science to innovate in a sustainable way. Our employees around the world uniquely address the opportunities and challenges of our customers, communities and planet.

In Brazil, where it has about 3,300 employees, the company has three plants located in the state of São Paulo, which make up 3M do Brasil, as well as 3M Manaus, located in the state of Amazonas. In 2021, it reached gross sales of R$ 4.6 billion in the country.