Susana López Charretón facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Susana López Charretón
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Susana Lopez Charreton
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| Born | 19 June 1957 |
| Alma mater | National Autonomous University of Mexico |
| Awards | Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology (UNESCO, 2001), TWAS Prize (Biology, 2008) and L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science (Latin America, 2012). |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Virology |
| Institutions | National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) |
Susana López Charretón is a famous Mexican scientist. She was born on June 19, 1957. She is a virologist, which means she studies viruses.
Susana López Charretón is an expert in understanding how rotavirus infects people. This virus can cause serious illness, especially in young children. She has led important research at the Biotechnology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Cuernavaca, Mexico, for over 25 years.
From 2000 to 2010, she was a special researcher for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2012, she won a big award called the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. She received it for her work in finding out how rotaviruses cause so many deaths in children each year.
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Early Life and Education
Susana López Charretón was born in Mexico City in 1957. From a young age, she knew she wanted to study biology. Biology is the study of living things.
She followed her dream and went to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). There, she earned her first degree in biomedical research in 1980. She continued her studies and earned a master's degree in 1983 and a PhD in 1986. During her studies, she also spent some time at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the United States.
Amazing Research on Rotavirus
Dr. López Charretón leads her own research team at the Biotechnology Institute at UNAM. She also helps teach and guide students who are studying for their master's and PhD degrees.
Throughout her career, she has greatly improved our understanding of the rotavirus. One of her team's most important discoveries is about how the rotavirus enters the human body.
Rotavirus usually spreads through the mouth. However, it only infects and grows in the cells of the small intestine. It leaves other cells alone.
Her work has also looked at how the rotavirus spreads among people. She studies how our bodies fight the virus (our immune system). She also researches how the virus makes copies of itself. This important work has helped create new ways to test for the virus. It has also helped find new types of the virus. Her research is even helping to develop a vaccine to protect children from rotavirus.
She has written over 130 scientific papers in international journals. For nearly nine years, she also helped edit the Journal of Virology, a major science magazine.
Awards and Recognition
Susana López Charretón has received many important awards for her scientific work. In 1988, she won the Gabino Barreda Medal from UNAM for her PhD research. She also received the Fogarty Fellow award in 1991.
She won the Funsalud Biennial Award for Gastrointestinal Diseases twice, in 2000 and 2002. In 2001, she was given the Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology by UNESCO. This is a special award from the United Nations.
From 2000 to 2010, she was an International Research Scholar with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). This program gave her funding for her important rotavirus research.
In 2010, HHMI asked Dr. López Charretón what she would do to change the world. She said she would convince rich people like TV stars and athletes to donate money. This money would help make sure every child in poorer countries gets all available vaccines. It would also help make sure these children are well-fed during their first five years. She believes this would give them a fair start in life.
In 2012, she won the prestigious L'Oréal-UNESCO Prize for Women in Science. This award is given to only one woman scientist per continent each year. Dr. López Charretón won for Latin America. She was honored for finding out how rotaviruses cause the death of 600,000 children every year.
That same year, she also received the Omecihuatl Medal from the Women's Institute of Mexico City. In 2013, she won the "Premio Universidad Nacional" for her research in Natural Sciences. In 2014, the BBC recognized her as one of their 100 inspiring women.
Personal Life
Susana López Charretón is married to another scientist, Carlos Arias Ortiz. They both received the Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology in 2001. They also both won the TWAS Prize in Biology in 2008.
Dr. López Charretón and her husband have two children, Rodrigo and Alejandra. She lives in Mexico City.
Images for kids
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This is an electron microscope image of the rotavirus.
See also
In Spanish: Susana López Charreton para niños
