Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim: These four women changed science

Mai Thi Nguyen Kim
These four women changed science

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th is intended to remember the crucial role that girls and women play in science. To this day, women in this area face challenges that make a research career more difficult than for their male colleagues. Despite all the progress in gender equality, women remain underrepresented in science. These four women have paved the way for an exploratory female future.

Marie Curie – The most famous example

Marie Curie (1867-1934) was one of the few women who managed to make a name for herself in male-dominated science. The physicist and chemist initially researched the radiation from uranium. She described these as “radioactive”. An insight for which Curie became the first woman in history to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry followed in 1911 for the discovery of the elements polonium and radium. Curie passed on her knowledge at the Sorbonne University and headed the Radium Institute in Paris. There she also campaigned for the promotion of women.

Rosalind Franklin – The Overlooked One

The Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958) was denied the Nobel Prize. Although the British biochemist was the first person to photograph the DNA double helix structure in 1952. She never received such recognition throughout her life. Four years after her death, James Watson (95) and Francis Crick (1916-2004) accepted the award for decoding DNA instead. Franklin’s research results served as a basis.

Ann Tsukamoto – The Stem Cell Revolutionary

Another pioneer is Ann Tsukamoto (71). She revolutionized medicine when her research team succeeded in isolating blood-forming stem cells in 1991. This discovery fundamentally changed the treatment of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. With twelve patents already under her belt, Tsukamoto continued her pioneering work in the field of stem cell research and continues to shape modern medical research to this day.

Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim – A modern role model

A modern role model for many young women is chemist Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim (36). After completing her doctorate at the University of Potsdam in 2017, she made a name for herself not only through her research work, but also through her presence in the media. As a science communicator, including with her YouTube channel “maiLab”, as well as a science journalist and presenter on ARD and ZDF, she helps to raise awareness of the importance of female researchers and encourage young women to get involved in this area . In addition to her impressive career, she is now a mother of two – so she can do both!

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