Eugenia del Pino facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eugenia del Pino
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Eugenia María del Pino Veintimilla
April 19, 1945 |
| Alma mater | Emory University (PhD) Vassar College (MS) Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (Licenciatura). |
| Known for | Embryonic development of the marsupial frogs Hemiphractidae and poison arrow frogs Dendrobatidae in comparison with other tropical frogs. |
| Awards | L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science
"Premio Nacional Eugenio Espejo" awarded by the Government of Ecuador. The 2019 Prize of the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology. The 2022 Developmental Biology-Society for Developmental Biology Lifetime Achievement Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Developmental Biology, Cell biology. |
| Institutions | Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador), Quito. |
| Doctoral advisor | Asa A. Humphries Jr. |
Eugenia María del Pino Veintimilla (born April 19, 1945) is a famous scientist from Quito, Ecuador. She studies how living things grow and develop, especially frogs. She works at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador in Quito.
In 2006, she became the first person from Ecuador to join the United States National Academy of Sciences. This is a very important group of top scientists. She also won the 2019 Prize from the Latin American Society for Developmental Biology. This award was for her great research and for helping developmental biology grow in Latin America.
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Her Life and Education
Eugenia del Pino was born and grew up in Quito, Ecuador. She earned her first university degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE) in 1967.
After that, she went to the United States to continue her studies. She received a Master's degree from Vassar College in 1969. Then, she earned her Ph.D. from Emory University in 1972.
After finishing her studies, she returned to Ecuador. She became a Biology professor at PUCE in Quito. She taught there from 1972 to 2013. Since 2013, she has been a professor emerita, meaning she is retired but still involved in her field.
From 1973 to 1975, she was the Head of Biological Sciences at her university. She also did research in Germany and the USA with special grants. These grants helped her work with other top scientists.
Her Amazing Research on Frogs
Eugenia del Pino's scientific journey shows how much a person can achieve with hard work. She started her career when a program called "Alliance for Progress" helped train science teachers in Ecuador. One of her teachers encouraged her to study in the United States.
She received scholarships to study in the US. She earned her Master's and Ph.D. degrees there. Her Ph.D. research looked at how frog eggs are fertilized.
When she returned to Ecuador, she wanted to continue her research. She didn't have money to buy the frogs she used to study. But she found a special frog, the Gastrotheca riobambae, right in her university's gardens!
This frog became very important for her studies. It's a "marsupial frog" because the female carries her eggs in a pouch on her back. The male helps put the eggs into the pouch. This is a unique way of reproduction for frogs.
How Marsupial Frogs Develop
Marsupial frog embryos grow inside the mother's body, which is a salty environment. This is different from most frogs, which lay eggs in water. Eugenia del Pino discovered that these embryos get rid of waste differently too.
Regular tadpoles release ammonia, which is toxic if it builds up. But marsupial frog embryos release urea instead. Urea helps them keep water in the mother's pouch. This discovery was very important!
The eggs of these frogs are very large, from 3 to 10 millimeters wide. They have all the food the embryo needs to grow. Eugenia found that Gastrotheca embryos develop flat, like a chick embryo on its yolk.
She also studied how their heads and gills form. The gills of these embryos are special. They form a network of tiny blood vessels around the embryo in the pouch. These "bell gills" help the embryo get oxygen from the mother. It's like an amphibian version of a placenta!
Eugenia del Pino studied many other marsupial frogs. Her discoveries about these amazing frogs were even featured in a famous magazine, Scientific American, in 1989.
Her work led to her being chosen for many important science groups. She became the first Ecuadorian member of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. She also won the L’Oreal-Unesco Prize for Women in Science for Latin America. Her life shows that great science can happen anywhere with creativity.
Teaching and Helping Society
Eugenia del Pino brought the study of developmental biology to Ecuador. For a long time, her university was the only one offering courses in this subject. Her lab was also the only active research lab in this field.
She worked with scientists from many countries, including the USA, Japan, the UK, and Germany. She trained many undergraduate students in her lab. Many of her students became co-authors on her scientific papers. She trained over 300 students through her teaching and research.
Ecuador did not have a national Academy of Sciences. So, Eugenia invited other scientists to create one. They wrote the rules and got legal approval from the government. In 2013, the Academy of Sciences of Ecuador (ACE) was officially recognized. Eugenia was a founding member and served as its Vice President. The ACE helps Ecuadorian scientists connect and work together.
For about 25 years, Eugenia del Pino also helped with conservation efforts for the Galápagos Islands. She helped set up scholarships for Ecuadorian students to study in the Galápagos. She also served as Vice President of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands.
Her work has made her a very important figure in science in Ecuador and Latin America.
Awards and Honors
Eugenia del Pino has received many awards for her important work:
- Diploma for Education and Conservation in the Galápagos Islands, World Wildlife Fund, 1986.
- Medal from the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands, 1999.
- L’OREAL-UNESCO Award for Women in Science for Latin America, 2000.
- "Pluma de la Dignidad" Award from the National Association of Journalists of Ecuador, 2003.
- Eugenio Espejo Medal on the Sciences from the City of Quito, 2005.
- International Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006.
- National Eugenio Espejo Prize (Premio Eugenio Espejo) from the Government of Ecuador, 2012. This is Ecuador's highest science award.
- Founding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Ecuador, 2013.
- Latin American Society of Developmental Biology Prize, 2019.
- The Developmental Biology-Society for Developmental Biology Lifetime Achievement Award, 2022.
- Recognition as Woman of the Year in the Sciences by Revista Hogar (Ecuador), 2022.
See also
In Spanish: Eugenia del Pino para niños
