Kate Lee, postdoc in the lab of Tony Hyman, is mother of a 1-year-old son. Photo by Kai Bublitz for L’Oréal
Kate Lee is one of three awardees of the 2016 WOMEN IN SCIENCE awards. The award honors and supports young female scientists in combining their career and family life. Kate Lee is a postdoc in the lab of Tony Hyman and works on understanding how proteins turn into pathological aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases upon aging.
The "For Women in Science" Program was created by the UNESCO Commission and the L’Oréal Foundation. Together with the foundation of Nobel Laureate Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, they honor and support young female scientists who are also mothers. Three awardees are identified each year and receive 20,000 Euro each to support them in combining their career and their family lives: 400 Euro a month help to finance child care or household help. With this support, women in science get a chance to spend more time with their families while furthering their careers. Half of the prize money goes to the institute to implement measurements that help to improve the work-life balance for young families.