Three young Greek female researchers have recently been presented with the Greek L’Oreal-UNESCO Awards for their original work in science. The L’Oreal-UNESCO Awards, a partnership between the French cosmetics company L’Oreal and the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), aim to improve the position of women in science, by recognizing outstanding women researchers who have contributed to scientific progress. The Greek Awards form part of the International L’Oreal-UNESCO programme for women in Science, which was launched back in 1998, and has hitherto presented awards and fellowships to 1.292 female researchers worldwide, two of whom have also won a Nobel Prize.

This year’s award winners are Dr. Marianthi Georgitsi, Researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology of the Department of Pharmacy, University of Patras; Dr. Georgia Sfyroera, a "Marie Curie" Fellow-Collaborating Researcher at the "Demokritos" National Center for Scientific Research; and Dr. Eleni Katragkou, Lecturer in the Department of Meteorology and Climatology of the School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. The scientists also received € 10.000 each.

Heart surgeon Dr. Maria Aronis, Director of the Cardiovascular Clinical Euroclinic in Athens, was awarded the Ipazia Prize for Female Excellence in the Mediterranean 2012. The award was presented to the Greek scientist during a ceremony in Genova, Italy, on November 23.

Ipazia Prize, named after Hypatia, the first woman mathematician, honours women from Mediterranean countries, who make significant contributions in various fields of political, economic, social, cultural and scientific life around the world. Aronis is the first scientist to receive the prize.

In her accepting speech, Dr. Aronis expressed her satisfaction over the award, as "Hypatia was not only a woman-scientist, but also a Greek."