Nermeen Abuelezz wins the second edition of the “Science for Women” contest of the Women for Africa Foundation

22 de December de 2023

The researcher Nermeen Abuelezz, who in 2023 received a visiting scholarship from the Women for Africa Foundation to do a research stay at the Institute for Neurosciences, a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, has been the winner of the second edition of the Science for Women contest. The objective of this initiative is to continue the 'from labs to society' proposal, thanks to which scientists from the foundation's Science by Women program can develop research and projects of different kinds in their countries of origin.

The scientific cooperation program Science by Women launched its second contest a few months ago, thanks to the support of the Eurofins Foundation. In the scientific dissemination category, whose prize in this edition consisted of €6,000, those scientists from the program who were carrying out their research stays, or who had already completed them in any of the previous calls, could participate. The committee has decided to award the prize to Nermeen Abuelezz for her proposal for the creation of an online platform on dementia in Egypt.

Dementia is the most common neurodegenerative disorder among the elderly population worldwide and its economic and social burden is even greater in low-middle-income countries such as Egypt, where most patients have the support of family members who lack the right knowledge and support to face that burden. There is a lack of effective channels to reach affected families and develop knowledge about different aspects of dementia. This causes the affected sectors to be completely overwhelmed by the deterioration of the patients and the lack of guidance about the disease throughout its progression.

The high-level educational and community platform proposed by the researcher will allow to reach many families affected by dementia, with the aim of offering them guidance and support. In addition, this initiative will be very useful to raise awareness among the general public about the disease and its risk factors, as well as to offer advice for prevention.

Nermeen Abuelezz received a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences from Cairo University (Egypt). His research is focused on exploring the molecular alterations involved in inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders to study potential early diagnostic biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

During her stay at the Institute for Neurosciences, she investigated the role of microglia in the Altered molecular mechanism in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia laboratory, led by researcher Javier Sáez Valero.

Source: Women x Africa Foundation / Institute for Neurosciences UMH-CSIC (in.comunicacion@umh.es)