March 8 marks the International Women’s Day. With the aim of giving visibility and vindicating the decisive role that the women scientists have had throughout history, IDIBELL has announced an action in coming weeks.

In recent years there have been important organizational changes in the IDIBELL research environment, such as the creation of Research Programs, the departure of Dr. Manel Esteller and the integration of the CMRB, which make it necessary to update the nomenclatures of the IDIBELL research spaces. As a center that recognizes gender equality as one of the axes for the progress of biomedical research, the IDIBELL has considered baptizing its spaces with names of world-renowned women scientists, whose research have been fundamental for the advancement of life and health sciences. Thus, the spaces managed by IDIBELL, including meeting rooms and common facilities located at the Duran i Reynals Hospital will be named as famous woman researchers:

• Rosalind Franklin: Chemist and Xray crystallographer, that discovered the double helix structure of DNA.
• Barbara McClintock: Citogenetist that discovery the elements of gene expression and transposons, and Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1983.
• Rita Levi Montalcini: Neurobiologist who discovers neural growth factors, and Nobel Prize in Medicine 1986.
• Mary Frances Lyon: Geneticist who discovers the inactivation of the X chromosome.
• Gertry Cori: Biochemist that discovered Cori cycle, and Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1947.
• Elisabeth Blackwell: A pioneer in public health, she was important in raising awareness of the need of hygiene to avoid infections.