L’Oréal USA has announced the recipients of the 2018 For Women in Science Fellowship — for the program’s 15th anniversary year. Each year, five female postdoctoral scientists receive grants of $60,000 each to advance their research.

The program is centered on L’Oréal’s belief that the world needs science and science needs women, because women in science have the power to change the world.

The For Women in Science program provides funding and support during a critical time in female scientists’ careers. Although the number of women in science is increasing, there remains a “leaky pipeline,” with significant career drop-off happening during the years between postdoc and tenure track. In addition to providing vital grant money, For Women in Science fellows receive mentorship, career coaching and media training.

Frédéric Rozé, President & CEO of L’Oréal USA comments, “I am inspired by the work this year’s For Women in Science fellows are doing, both in the lab and in their communities as role models for the next generation of women in STEM. At L’Oréal, beauty is based in science, which is central to our belief that science makes progress possible. On the fifteenth anniversary of the For Women in Science program, we proudly celebrate the groundbreaking scientific contributions of these female leaders.”

Dr. Sridevi Sarma, 2008 For Women in science Fellow and Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins School of Biomedical Engineering, says, “The funding accelerated my research on Parkinson’s Disease and honed my leadership skills, which led me to be a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2012 and has been critical to my current work on epilepsy.”

The 2018 For Women in Science Fellows 

From neuroscience to mechanical engineering, the 2018 For Women in Science fellows are being honored for their important research across a wide range of fields. 

• Amber Alhadeff, whose research in neuroscience at University of Pennsylvania is helping inform the way we think about treating obesity, eating disorders and type II diabetes.


• Stacy Copp, whose research in soft matter physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory focuses on developing new materials that produce and manipulate light, with potential applications in biomedical diagnostics, solar energy and energy-efficient lighting.


• Brecca Gaffney, whose research in biomechanics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis studies the mechanics of human movement, and aims to improve treatment for patients who are seeking rehabilitation for an injury or movement disorder.


• Fan Liu, whose research in infectious diseases at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is focused on predicting how bacteria become antibiotic resistant, with the goal of designing new therapies and medicines to slow resistance in the future.


• Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert, whose research in geomicrobiology at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is helping determine how life sustains itself in harsh conditions, potentially providing insight into how life evolved on Earth and where it could exist beyond our planet.

Fellows Will Be Honored in Washington, D.C.

L’Oréal USA will recognize the 2018 fellows at an awards ceremony hosted by CBS This Morning Co-Host Norah O’Donnell at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C on Thursday, October 25, 2018.

The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science program is the U.S. component of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards, a global program created in 1998 that recognizes and rewards women scientists around the world.

Through the international program and the nearly 50 national and regional programs—which includes the For Women in Science program—more than 2,500 female scientists from more than 100 countries have received fellowships to pursue promising research projects.