The deadline for submitting applications is January 15. The contest awards a prize of €1,500 for each category: predoctoral and postdoctoral.
The Marine Research Centre (CIM) of the University of Vigo is launching the 4th edition of the Marie Tharp Video Contest, an initiative aimed at female researchers affiliated with the centre, with the goal of highlighting female talent in marine research and promoting scientific vocations based on equality. The competition offers a prize of €1,500 per category, which may be used to purchase computer equipment or to attend scientific conferences.
The contest is named after Marie Tharp, a pioneering marine cartographer and geologist who created the first world map of the ocean floor. Her work opened new horizons in the understanding of the oceans and embodies the bold scientific spirit that CIM aims to celebrate through this contest.
The chair of CIM’s Equality and Sustainability Committee, Ana Bernabeu, emphasizes that “this initiative seeks to recognize and give visibility to the work of the center’s female researchers, promote their professional development, and help reduce the gender gap that still exists in the later stages of scientific careers.” This year’s award ceremony will include a roundtable where winners from previous editions can share their experiences.
Contest rules
All female researchers at CIM are eligible to participate in the predoctoral and junior postdoctoral categories. Each participant must record a video of up to one minute in which they clearly and accessibly explain the focus of their research, their motivation, objectives, work plan, and potential results or impacts.
The full contest rules can be found on the center’s website: cim.uvigo.gal.
The future of marine research: the path of the awardees
The Marie Tharp contest helps highlight the professional trajectories of its participants, who continue to advance their careers with high-impact projects. Alejandra García, awarded in the third edition of the contest in the predoctoral category, is currently studying the invasive success of a freshwater snail species using genetic and proteomic tools and has undertaken research stays in the United States to determine the origin and invasion process of this species in Galicia. Similarly, Nerea Cazás, who received a special mention in the last edition of the award, is now in her second year of doctoral research focused on analyzing sediment cores to reconstruct a detailed history of coastal evolution and ecosystems in the Ría de Vigo over the past 15,000 years.
Other researchers are already at more advanced stages, such as Elisa Osorio, awarded in 2023, who is in the final phase of her doctoral thesis on the parasite fauna of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the Ría de Vigo. The 2023 postdoctoral category winner, Sara Comesaña, received a Juan de la Cierva fellowship and works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in Vigo, focusing on optimizing turbot aquaculture through improved feeding and welfare. Meanwhile, Jessica Calo, recognized in the most recent edition of the Marie Tharp award, is currently on a research stay at INRAE in France, where she will spend two years studying sustainable aquaculture and animal nutrition. The careers of these professionals exemplify the reach and impact of the Marie Tharp contest in promoting women researchers in the marine sector. The CIM has the CIGUS recognition of the Xunta de Galicia, which accredits the quality and impact of its research, and its activity is co-financed by the European Union through the FEDER 21-27 Program.
Source: DUVI
