On Friday, March 6, the Barradas Auditorium (L’Hospitalet) once again hosted the show that, year after year, commemorates the Day of Women and Girls in Science (11F) and that this year has also joined the claims of World Women’s Day (8M): the sLHam of Women Scientists of IDIBELL. Despite having to cancel the initial date due to the extreme wind episode of February 12, the event could be successfully rescheduled, selling out again, to celebrate female science at the gates of 8M. One thing is clear: science has a woman’s name, and in Catalan biomedical research and IDIBELL there are more and more women at the forefront.
Following last year’s initiative, the public filled the Barradas Auditorium in two sessions: a morning session for hundreds of students from the Bellvitge, Torres i Bages and Can Vilumara Institutes, and representatives of the CFA Sant Josep adult center and the Viladecans Association Against Cancer, and an afternoon session open to the general public. In both sessions, the Barradas was filled with a festive and vindicatory atmosphere, reaching more than 350 people between the two sessions that received with great energy the monologues of the slhameres and the music of DJ Trapella.
Women scientists all over the stage
Paulina Cerdà, Catalina Falo, Francesca Mateo, Juliana Bordignon, Laura Casado, Lucero Munguía and the two junior slhameres, Tanzeela Aslam and Salma Varo, from the Bellvitge Institute, were the indisputable protagonists of the day. All of them women and scientists, they demonstrated the diversity and potential of biomedical research carried out at the Bellvitge Health Campus.
Our slhameres shared with the public their relationship with science, the milestones of their professional careers, and the challenges they have had to face to make their way into the world of science. “Sometimes, due to a certain glass ceiling, there are not so many women who occupy the most important places in the world of research,” says Francesca Mateo. And Lucero Munguía adds a nuance regarding the situation of migrant scientists, “As migrant women, we face many challenges. That is what I would like to convey to the girls. Beyond any circumstance that they may be found, they must continue to defend, fight, and do what we are doing here today: make women’s work visible”.
In the specific case of the Bellvitge Institute students, Tanzeela and Salma explained their experience by carrying out the research work on the problematic use of screens at IDIBELL. They are not yet sure what they will study after high school, but they are convinced to bet on science: “Science is wonderful and, although there may be barriers, women scientists have done a lot for us. Without them we could not be here presenting our research work”, explains Tanzeela.
In addition, the event once again featured a dynamic staging with music, this time by DJ Trapella (Marta Riera), who is also a microbiologist. Despite having developed her career in the world of music, she keeps very good memories of her time in the laboratories and does not rule out returning. The other women scientist hidden on the stage was the host of the event, Júlia Benito, biologist and scientific communicator from IDIBELL who was in charge, for the third consecutive year, of conducting the sLHam.
A real commitment to equality
In the final section of the event, Maria Molina, scientific director of IDIBELL, Laura García, deputy mayor of L’Hospitalet, and Teresa Sanchis, general director of research of the Generalitat de Catalunya, took the stage for the institutional parliaments. “I would like to give deep thanks to all the people who have made the sLHam possible. This was already the ninth editions, in which, year after year, we make female talent visible. I think that this is essential to give the energy that is needed to continue investigating and promoting science,” said Maria Molina. Laura García and Teresa Sanchis joined the thanks, highlighting the importance of promoting gender equality through the implementation of specific measures from the administration to make it real.
The climax of the night was the delivery of the golden pipette to the winning slhamera. By popular decision of the attending public, who voted live, Laura Casado became the winner of the night for her monologue in cardiac regenerative medicine, in which she detailed the recipe they use in the laboratory to “cook” cardiac patches with bioink and 3D bioprinting (read more here!).
The sLHam de Dones Científiques is part of the LHCiència strategy and has the collaboration of the Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council, the Bellvitge Institute and the support of several institutions committed to dissemination and equality in the field of research.
The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) is a biomedical research center created in 2004. It is participated by the Bellvitge University Hospital and the Viladecans Hospital of the Catalan Institute of Health, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the University of Barcelona and the Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council.
IDIBELL is a member of the Campus of International Excellence of the University of Barcelona HUBc and is part of the CERCA institution of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In 2009 it became one of the first five Spanish research centers accredited as a health research institute by the Carlos III Health Institute. In addition, it is part of the “HR Excellence in Research” program of the European Union and is a member of EATRIS and REGIC. Since 2018, IDIBELL is an accredited Center of the AECC Scientific Foundation (FCAECC).