An Argentine biologist rewarded by the princess of …

Argentine scientist Sandra Myrna Díaz has been awarded the Princess of Asturias Prize for Scientific and Technical Research 2019, which she shares with the American Joanne Chory. The two work separately, but the jury felt that "their pioneering contributions to the knowledge of plant biology, which are important for the fight against climate change and the defense of biological diversity". The investigations of both, added the statement of the Foundation Princess of Asturias (FPA), operate "in a complementary and independent way".

The works of Díaz, recognized "in the field of ecology and specialized in botany", graduates and PhD students of the National University of Córdoba, of which the Pluridisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology currently covers, allow to quantify the importance of conserving functional biodiversity to ensure the benefits ecosystems bring to humanity. "Joanne Chory's work on the molecular and genetic responses of plants to variations in The environment, especially light and temperature, help to understand and improve the adaptation of natural systems to global warming.

Díaz was born in Bell City, Córdoba, and participated "in the development of a methodological tool to quantify the effects and benefits of plant biodiversity and plant ecology of ecosystems and their use by the community. Man, in the form of fuel, materials, dyes, food, protection of water and other contributions, as well as the role of biodiversity in the fight against global change for example by sequestering atmospheric carbon, "the FPA statement added.

Cordovan is also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Sciences of France and the Royal Society (Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities 2011). In 2013, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the nation had awarded him the Houssay Trajectory Award in the field of biological sciences.