There is a lot of talk about making a contribution. human diversitybut the way traveled scientist Carolyn Bertozzi to reach Nobel Prize in Chemistry Powered by 2022. policies promoting the inclusion of people of different origins and ages, gender identitysexual orientation, Ethnicityand specialty that began to be built more than 25 years ago.

Dr. Bertozzi’s first lesbian woman Winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, according to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. live with you wife and three sons Silicon Valley in the United States and teacher and researcher Stanford University.

Bertozzi grew up in a home academic parents. His father was a physics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Nobody told him he had to be a scientist. But yes his father instilled in him and his two sisters He “No teacher should infect them with the idea that they can’t do anything”as the researcher said at a conference in 2018. Every dream can be realized.

After graduation Harvard University Bertozzi earned his doctorate in chemistry in 1988. University of California at Berkeley He held postdoctoral and teaching positions elsewhere, then rejoined the chemistry faculty and Berkeley Lab in 1996.

Bertozzi with his team a new kind of chemistry. It works with so-called “bioorthogonal reactions” that will make it possible for more specific cancer treatmentsamong many other applications. he joined Founding of 7 biotechnology companiesdevelops new approaches for patients with cancer, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Bertozzi, with a PhD student born in Burundi, tuberculosis test fast and low cost, great option for populations low and middle income countries.

After receiving the news of the Nobel laureate he shared with scientists Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless, Bertozzi gave a public speech days ago and highlighted it. The impact of diversity culture on his career. “If you look at the first essay from my lab at Berkeley, The essence of the people doing the work for which the Nobel prize is recognized was much more diverse than was seen at the time. on average in chemistry labs.”

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At a time when female representation in other departments of the same faculty did not exceed 30% in her laboratory, more than 50% of the staff were women. It also included people from different countries and defined as underrepresented minorities. “I think the diversity of people created an environment where we felt we didn’t have to play scientists. We can do things like organic chemistry on living animals. Why not?” he said to explain why. they didn’t follow rules they thought were already outdated and set out to challenge ideas.

“I was very lucky to be able to play. a supporting role and let this diverse group find their voice and realize their curiosity and 25 years later he did something that some find shocking. I owe a great debt of gratitude.” Since her youth, Bertozzi has also been an activist for the inclusion of people of different gender identities and sexual orientations.

“In college, around the age of 18, I knew you were gay. There was a lot of homophobia back then, as it was at a time when the AIDS crisis was in full swing. i came out of the closet at a time when people are mobilizing to achieve political change. But at the same time it was a time getting out of the closet can stop you get a job”, he told the special magazine Chemistry and Engineering News. Because of this situation, he chose the University of Berkeley.

“I know from friends who work elsewhere that there is (and still is) a lot of stigma for gays in America. at least now We have civil and legal rights that give us some form of equality before the law, but unofficial homophobia still exists. I’ve been relatively privileged and protected from it, but if we leave the United States, if we leave Canada, there are places where he’s still punished for being gay, sometimes even death. We should never lose sight of the fact that science is international.”expressed.

His commitment to respecting diversity continues throughout his life. “At the Bertozzi Laboratory, we are committed to fundamental research and the development of new technologies at the service of humanity. Our efforts are supported by a diverse and inclusive work environment. We welcome researchers of all races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities and abilities. We encourage an open space where we can learn from each other and take action to engage and challenge systemic inequalities in science,” he says on his lab’s website.

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Bertozzi has mentored more than 270 doctoral and postdoctoral students. He has also mentored university researchers in his group, including 52 women and underrepresented students who have completed their doctorates or completed their doctorates at other prestigious universities. Inside Stanford, created two programs for doctoral and postdoctoral students that take into account minorities.

For the researcher, not everything is science. He plays the piano in his spare time and was a member of a rock band in his youth. with Tom Morellois the guitarist of the American rock band Rage Against The Machine. Musician congratulated him on the Nobel to Bertozzi on the social network Twitter. the group was called He was responsible for the “Bored of Education” and keyboards. Bertozzi also uses Twitter to highlight colleagues and important articles around the world. He had known the Argentine scientist last July. Gabriel Rabinovic.

Today, it is sometimes argued that diversity should be encouraged as it increases the efficiency of institutions and companies. But Bertozzi went on to clarify that involving people is simply an act of justice: “I agree with this: diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics should be a reflection of fairness, not a way to achieve better outcomes. . Same way, As a gay person, I never wanted to be “tolerated”. I want equality.”

“2022 Nobel Prize Carolyne Bertozzi There has been a way to make visible members of a group. a group of people not in binary statistics. This state of concealment creates a lot of suffering, which adds to the tremendous energy they must use to avoid discrimination in that population. It is necessary to build a more inclusive science” commented information doctor Silvia KohchenShe is a researcher at Conicet, Argentina, head of Neurosciences at Hospital El Cruce, and co-founder of the Argentine Gender, Science and Technology Network (RAGCYT).

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