Unesco Awards Cuban Scientist for Her Research on Dengue Fever

The Cuban specialist in infectious diseases was awarded the prize in its 2022 edition for her research on dengue fever.

Unesco highlighted that Guzman stands out for her pioneering work on the pathogenesis of this disease, the treatment of its symptoms and its prevention. Dengue is a disease present mainly in intertropical areas, which affects between 50 and 100 million people worldwide every year.

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Dr. María Guadalupe Guzmán said Thursday that the award for her work is a recognition to Cuba and a life dedicated to science.

"Being one of the five women selected by Unesco, among all the women who do science for life in the world, is incredible," the doctor told Prensa Latina.

Guzman added: "This award is also to the Cuban Revolution; I would not have been the scientist I am today without the revolutionary project of putting science at the center of development and in terms of improving the health of the people."

In addition to the Cuban doctor, other recipients of the award were U.S. biochemist Katalin Kariko (North America), Chinese neuroscience expert Hailan Hu (Asia Pacific), Rwandan professor Agnès Binagwaho (Africa and Arab States) and Spanish embryology specialist María Ángela Nieto (Europe).

"Dr. María Guadalupe Guzmán Tirado, of Cuba, is one of the five women awarded in the 24th edition of the L'Oréal-UNESCO International Prize "Women in Science" 2022.

Since 1998, Unesco, in cooperation with the French cosmetics company L'Oréal, has awarded the prize to women researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the life sciences and the environment.

The scientist is chairing the 17th edition of the International Course on Dengue and other Arboviruses, convened for October 1 by the IPK Collaborating Center of the Pan American and World Health Organizations for the Study of Dengue and its Control, the Cuban Society of Microbiology and Parasitology and the Ministry of Public Health.

María Guadalupe Guzmán has more than 30 years of research experience in the field of virology and dengue and arboviruses in particular. She has contributed to the strengthening and developing virological diagnosis and laboratory surveillance of arboviruses in Cuba and the Americas.

The specialist has published more than 300 scientific articles and is the author of the chapter on dengue in the country's Encyclopedia of Public Health.