Eight researchers received the national “For Women in Science” award from L’Oréal Groupe México, UNESCO, and the Mexican Academy of Sciences (AMC). Additionally, another L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO global initiative to advance gender equality in science was announced for implementation in the country.
Members of the scientific community, academia, the private sector and government gathered on the evening of 20 October at the Museum of Natural History and Environmental Culture in Mexico City for the award ceremony, held on the 20th anniversary of the programme in Mexico.
The awards are granted to women working in the exact and natural sciences, engineering and technology at two stages of their academic careers. The Established Careers award honours researchers of proven scientific maturity, and the Rising Talents award supports young scientists carrying out postdoctoral projects.
With an investment of over MXN 1,550,000, the 2026 edition of the “For Women in Science” awards provides resources to accelerate the winners’ research, strengthen their leadership and maximize the social, technological and environmental impact of their findings.
The Established Careers awards were handed over by Deborah Armstrong, Managing Director of L’Oréal Groupe México; Andrés Morales, UNESCO Representative in Mexico; and Rafael Bojalil Parra, on behalf of Telma Castro Romero, President of the Mexican Academy of Sciences. Rising Talents awards by Araceli Becerril, Director of Corporate Responsibility at L’Oréal Groupe México, and Violeta Vázquez-Rojas Maldonado, Undersecretary of Science and Humanities at Mexico’s Ministry of Science, Humanities, Technology and Innovation.
Established Careers awards
- Ingeborg Dorothea Becker Fauser researches leishmaniasis at the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). This disfiguring and painful disease has yet to be eradicated and mainly affects people with the fewest resources. Diagnosis often comes only after serious sequelae, so Becker Fauser’s team is developing specific markers to make it easier. The team is also exploring pathways towards a vaccine and links science with traditional herbal knowledge.
- Irene Antonia Cruz-González Espinosa, from UNAM’s Institute of Astronomy, has focused particularly on the properties of interstellar dust in the central regions of galaxies. She has contributed to instrumentation for the 2.1 metre telescope at the National Astronomical Observatory in San Pedro Mártir. She has also built alliances across sectors and disciplines to bring scientific projects into operation.
- Mercedes Guadalupe López Pérez, a researcher at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (Cinvestav-IPN), was recognized for a 34-year career. At least 25 of those years have been devoted to various species of Mexican agave. She discovered agavins, prebiotic compounds that support the gut microbiota. Agavins also stimulate the natural production of GLP-1, a hormone that regulates satiety and insulin. This finding lays the groundwork for more affordable alternatives to injectable treatments. Her team is also studying the potential nutritional benefits of these molecules for people on the autism spectrum.
