Xinhua News Agency, Paris, May 14 (Reporter Xu Yongchun) On the 14th, UNESCO announced the list of winners of the 2024 L'Oreal UNESCO World Outstanding Female Scientist Award ("World Outstanding Female Scientist Award") to commend them for their pioneering research in the field of life and environmental science. Chinese scientist Yan Ning is one of the five winners.

UNESCO issued a communiqu é saying that the winners of this year's award were selected by an independent international jury from 350 candidates around the world. The outstanding achievements of the winners prove that the scientific community needs women's participation more than ever before to deal with major public health problems and other challenges, including cancer, malaria, polio, obesity, diabetes, epilepsy and other diseases.

The bulletin said that Yan Ning, professor of the School of Life Sciences of Tsinghua University, founding president of Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences, and director of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, discovered the atomic structure of a variety of membrane proteins that mediate the transport of ions and sugars across cell membranes, revealing the principle of transmembrane transport. Her excellent research has promoted the research on epilepsy, arrhythmia and other diseases, and guided the treatment of pain syndrome. Professor Yan Ning inspires women scientists all over the world, and she also vigorously advocates gender equality in scientific research and education.

The "World Outstanding Female Scientist Award" was jointly established by UNESCO and L'Oreal Group of France in 1998. Each year, it is awarded to five female scientists selected from Africa and Arab countries, Asia Pacific region, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. This year's award ceremony will be held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on May 28.

The other four winners this year are Rose Lake, former director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, First University of Yaounde, Cameroon, Alicia Kovaltauxi, professor of biochemistry, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nada Jabado, professor of Department of Pediatrics and Human Genetics, McGill University, Canada Genevieve Almuz, Research Director of the French National Center for Scientific Research.