8 of March: The International Women's Day
It was in New York, 168 years ago, in 1857, when women first demonstrated in history, on that occasion to demand better working conditions. Since then, demonstrations and strikes organized by women have had different reasons, such as the right to vote, the right to abortion, or peace. However, it was not until March 19, 1911, that International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and Switzerland. In 1922, Vladimir Lenin declared March 8 as International Women's Day for the first time, in commemoration of the role of women in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and World War II. Finally, in 1977, the General Assembly of the United Nations officially declared March 8 as International Women's Day for Women's Rights, to visualize the struggle of women to participate in all areas of life just like men.
Currently, March 8 is a day when the struggle of women to eliminate all forms of discrimination, regardless of their form or condition, in any area of life and, singularly, in the political, civil, economic, social, and cultural spheres, is vindicated and commemorated.
Although the list of those involved from each university continues to grow, available records indicate that in most partners the number of women working exceeds 50% of each local staff. From the European University of Brain and Technology, the commitment to the fight for fair and equal conditions is total and daily.
The female presence in this European consortium is found in all areas of work:
- administrative
- students
- project leaders
- rectors
- researchers
Some of the women who represent the different universities and who make NeurotechEU possible are:
Professor Corette J. Wierenga is a neuroscientist at the Donders Institute. She studies the dynamic nature of inhibitory synapses and their role in brain function. Her research has uncovered key molecular signals that regulate synapse formation and revealed an unexpected role for endocannabinoids in coordinating excitatory and inhibitory synapses within dendrites.
Dr. Lillo from the Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche is a specialist in Physiotherapy, Neurology, and Pediatrics. Her main research field is to understand the needs of children with motor disabilities and their families, to contribute to improving the care they receive.
The Karolinska Institutet has in their team the Professor of Experimental Neurogeriatics, Maria Ankarcrona. She has studied cell death mechanisms in neuronal cells and the role of mitochondria in Alzheimer’s disease. Among others, she has demonstrated glutamate toxicity as a succession of necrosis or apoptosis depending on mitochondrial function.
From the University of Bonn, Prof. Dr. Ilona Grunwald works combining neuroscience and physiology to understand how brains and bodies communicate on the cellular and molecular level to enable organisms to thrive in their respective environments. Dr. Grunwald has been the Academic Director of Bonn’s delegation of NeurotechEU from its start.
Yasemin Akın is a neuroscientist-in-training from the University of Bogazici. She has worked on understanding brain development and disease mechanisms using fruit fly models. She aims to contribute to therapies for neurological disorders.
Professor Anca Dana Buzoianu is the Rector of the "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, the first woman to hold this position at a Romanian medical university. Her scientific research focuses on experimental pharmacology, neuropsychopharmacology, pharmacogenomics, and personalized therapy. Also, she is interested in educational development projects and curriculum design. She has a wonderful family, two sons and two granddaughters.
Anahita Basirat is a Professor in the Department of Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Lille. Her research investigates the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying communication. Her work focuses on understanding the processes of speech perception, production, and their interplay in both neurotypical individuals and those with Parkinson’s disease while uncovering insights that could inform clinical interventions.
From Reykjavik University, Dr. Halldorsdottir is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology. Her research integrates diverse scientific disciplines to explore why some youth face mental health challenges and to identify ways to improve treatment outcomes.