In celebration of science

NOW IN its 16th year, L’Oreal (Thailand)’s “For Women in Science” programme recently concluded with the awarding of fellowship grants to five Thai female researchers. The programme focuses on research and development leading to the sustainable development of society and the environment, and reinforces L’Oreal Thailand’s commitment to encouraging female researchers in the field of science. This year, the programme adjusted the categories to cover Physical Sciences and Life Sciences in order to bring it in line with scientific development and international scholarship criteria and comprehensively cover more research projects.
“Research has been at the very heart of L’Oreal’s business for more than 100 years and is closely aligned with the belief that advances in science and technology are key to improving quality of life around the world,” says the company’s Onanong Pratakphiriya.
This year, the three awards in Life Sciences were presented to Dr Chanchao Lorthongpanich from the Siriraj Centre of Excellence for Stem Cell Research (SiSCR), Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, for her distinctive study “Enhancing platelet production from Hematopoietic Stem Cells for thrombocytopenia treatment”. The second fellowship went to Assistant Professor Varisa Pongrakhananon, PhD from the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, for her outstanding work: “The study role of CAMSAP proteins on lung cancer aggressiveness”. The third fellowship was awarded to Dr Wirulda Pootakham from the Genomic Research Laboratory, National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC) for her distinctive study “Elucidation of thermal stress response in corals and the assessment of genetic diversity in corals and their associated symbionts for sustainable marine ecosystem conservation and restoration”. 
The two awards in Physical Sciences went to Dr. Chularat Wattanakit from the Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) for her research study “Enantioselective electro-synthesis and chiral electro separation at chiral metal surfaces” and to Asst Prof Dr. Surapa Thiemjarus from the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, for her outstanding study: “Pervasive Healthcare System for Elderly People and Patients”.
Each of these works was carefully assessed based mainly on its sustainability for community and country. The benefits of the research, accurate methodologies, ethics and peer acceptance were also taken into account by the judging committee.
Explaining her research, Dr Chanchao said: “Platelets are a component of blood whose function is to react to bleeding by clumping, thereby initiating a blood clot and maintaining body balance. Many patients require platelets as a routine therapy due to their limited platelet production, such as thalassemia sufferers or patients receiving bone marrow transplants. However, because of the limited amount of platelets from each donation, platelets from 4-6 random donors must be pooled in order to provide enough volume for a single dose. Patients receiving platelets might also receive donor’s leukocytes, which will trigger their immune system to reject donated platelets. The study on enhancing platelet production from Hematopoietic Stem Cells for thrombocytopenia treatment would solve the problem of donor shortage and reduce the use of pooled-random donor platelets. Prompt delivery of platelets will result in better health, reduce the workload of medical personnel and decrease medical expenses. It also allows Thailand to become a medical hub that can pass on the technology to neighbouring countries, enhance the recruitment of professional staff and serve as a sustainable development tool for society and the nation in the future.”
Assistant Professor Varisa said of her research: “An increasing number of patients are today facing lung cancer. Lung cancer cells are highly malignant, spread rapidly and have high resistance to chemotherapy, leading to a low survival rate. The study of CAMSAP proteins on lung cancer aggressiveness is fundamental research in medical science. The research has helped to create new knowledge based on the biology of cancer cells. A basic understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer cells will lead to the identification of target molecules in anticancer drugs. It may also lead to further research in the development of anticancer drugs in a quicker and more efficient way in the future.”
Even though coral reefs cover less than 0.1 per cent of the ocean floor, they are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, supporting extraordinary biodiversity and serving as homes to millions of fish and other marine species. With sea temperatures on the rise, Dr Wirulda chose to look into what can be done to save Thailand’s reefs.
 “More than 500 million people worldwide depend on coral reefs for food, income and recreation. Reef ecosystems provide goods and services worth approximately $370 billion each year. Global climate change results in an increase in seawater temperature, which leads to severe bleaching of coral reefs around the world. 
Even a slight elevation in ocean temperature (1-2 degrees Celsius) can cause a massive bleaching event and eventually the death of the coral reefs, having a catastrophic impact on marine ecosystems. In our study, we sequenced DNA barcodes from the collected samples from various locations in the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea and used them to assess coral genetic diversity. In addition, we compared the differences in gene expression level between heat-tolerant and heat-sensitive coral colonies during thermal stress. Basic knowledge obtained from these studies will be valuable in predicting the survival rate of coral reefs in Thai waters as they encounter fluctuating environments in the future.”
Physical Sciences fellow, Dr Chularat explained her research, saying: “Pure enantiomers, which are important in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and analytical chemistry industries, are needed by the market. At the same time, they have limitations in terms of development, separation and production. The research team has developed and designed electrochemical catalysts together with asymmetric electrosynthesis for use in the manufacture of molecular structured products. This innovation provides new knowledge in the catalyst design and the use of electrochemical techniques in the production of high value-added chiral compounds from biomass or residues obtained from natural sources. This will be applied with environmentally friendly techniques and used in the medical, cosmetic and analytical chemistry industries. The outcome can help reduce production costs of medical items and cosmetics, which can in turn result in lower costs of the products.”
Dr Surapa’s study focused on the greying population. “Thailand is facing an ageing society and the ever-increasing demands on healthcare services will soon exceed what the government and basic health insurance can offer. Health services need innovative technologies to transform their services to provide the necessary and high quality care for the elderly and patients. Based on Body Sensor Networks and Internet-of-Things (IoT) technologies, we have developed a continuous preventative monitoring system that addresses common health problems faced by older adults, such as bedsores and falls. Instead of relying on routine observation by the caregivers, the miniaturised and intelligent sensors can provide continuous monitoring of the wellbeing and safety of the elderly/patients and raise alarms/warning if any adverse event is detected, easing the workload of the caregivers. Early interventions and preventative care can potentially reduce the mortality and morbidity rate and lead to a significant reduction in care costs for the family or government.”
To date, the Women in Science programme has offered fellowships to more than 3,122 female scientists and researchers from 117 countries. In Thailand, the L’Oreal fellowship programme offers a Bt250,000 grant every year to each of the selected Thai female researchers aged between 25 and 40 years. The |programme has to date granted 69 |fellowships to Thai female researchers.