Past winners
Women’s Impact Awards
2025 winners
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Ângela Gonçalves
Full Professor, Heidelberg University
Ângela Gonçalves originally trained in Computer Science at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, where she focused on the development of biologically inspired artificial intelligence algorithms. Following a research stay at the European Space Agency, she was awarded a fellowship to pursue a PhD in Computational Molecular Biology at the European Bioinformatics Institute, earning her doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2012. During her PhD, she investigated the evolution of gene expression regulation during mammalian speciation and developed some of the earliest computational methods for RNA sequencing analysis.
She went on to conduct postdoctoral research in population genomics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. In 2017, she received a pump-priming grant from the Cambridge Cancer Centre Early Detection Programme, initiating work on the use of menstrual fluid as a model system for tracking somatic mutations in normal tissues over time.
Since 2018, Ângela has led a joint wet- and dry-lab research group at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg. Her research focuses on modeling healthy aging and the evolution of somatic mutant clones in normal and pre-malignant tissues, with the goal of developing methods for cancer prevention and early detection. Since 2022, she has also served as co-lead of the Digital Cancer Prevention group at the National Cancer Prevention Center. Since 2024 she is full Professor at Heidelberg University.
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Colette Wabnitz
Research Associate, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia
Colette Wabnitz
Research Associate, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia
Colette Wabnitz is an interdisciplinary marine scientist. Her work explores how social-ecological systems respond to change and contributes to efforts toward more equitable and sustainable development in marine food systems. She works primarily in the Global South, collaborating closely with communities, researchers, governments, businesses, and other stakeholders to co-develop solutions that inform both science and policy. She holds research positions at Stanford University, the University of British Columbia, and the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
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Omneya Attallah
Professor, Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)
Omneya Attallah
Professor, Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)
Egypt
Omneya Attallah is a Professor of Biosignal Processing and Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Healthcare at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT) in Egypt. She is a founding member of the WeBios Lab, where her research focuses on developing intelligent systems for medical diagnosis and prognosis, long-term patient monitoring, assistive technologies, and stress management. She has been recognized among the top 2% of the world’s most influential scientists by the Stanford/Elsevier database (2022–2024) and ranked in the top 0.05% of global scholars according to the 2024 ScholarGPS rankings. Her awards include the Bioinformatics Sciences Award, the Best Presented Paper Award at the ICICM conference, and travel awards from IEEE and AWC. She has contributed to numerous nationally and internationally funded research projects. Omneya serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Computational Intelligence in Biomedicine and holds editorial roles in several prestigious journals. She is a Senior Member of IEEE and affiliated with several global scientific societies, including ACM and OWSD.
2024 winners
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Antonia Morita Saktiawati
Clinician lecturer at Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing
Antonia Morita Saktiawati
Clinician lecturer at Gadjah Mada University’s (UGM) Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing
Indonesia
Antonia Morita has worked in developing diagnosis and treatment for tuberculosis. Her passions are infectious disease and immunology. She serves as a National Delegate in the European Respiratory Society (ERS), co-lead of working groups in the Global Young Academy, vice coordinator in the Young Academy of Indonesia, editorial board member in the BMC Infectious Diseases, and is active in UNITE4TB and other international organizations. Among her achievements, she earned the Rising Star Award in Prague, s long-term Research Fellowship from ERS and the Faculty for the Future Award from the Schlumberger foundation.
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Inge Katrin Herrmann
Professor of Medical Technology Innovation, University of Zurich, Balgrist University Hospital, and Swiss Federal Labs
Inge Katrin Herrmann
Professor of Medical Technology Innovation, University of Zurich, Balgrist University Hospital, and Swiss Federal Labs
Inge Herrmann, an ETH Zurich engineer, is a Professor of Medical Technology Innovation at the University of Zurich, Balgrist University Hospital, and Swiss Federal Labs. Her lab focuses on developing the tools and technologies shaping the future of medicine. These innovations advance diagnostics and therapy, translating into clinical applications and successful ventures. Her achievements include the Eccellenza Professorial Award, Latsis Prize, and Largiader Award.
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Marianna Prokopi-Demetriades
Director/co-founder, Theramir Ltd
Cyprus
Dr. Marianna Prokopi-Demetriades, a visionary in the biotech sector, has pioneered an integrated, holistic approach to cancer care as co-founder of three biotech startups: Theramir Ltd, Promed Bioscience, and RSL Revolutionary Labs. By uniting nanotechnology, dermaceuticals, and tissue regeneration, she creates patient-focused solutions. A TEDx speaker and women-in-STEM advocate, her work has earned accolades like Forbes 20 Women In Tech Cyprus 2023 and King’s Distinguished Alumni Award 2022.
2023 winners
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Marwa Shumo
Associate Researcher in the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Center for Development Research (ZEF)
Marwa Shumo
Associate Researcher in the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources Management, Center for Development Research (ZEF)
Dr. Marwa Shumo a.k.a The Lady of the Flies is a Falling Walls Labs Finalist (2016) and a Young Scientist of the “Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings” (2020,2021 and 2023). The Lady of the Flies gained a B.Sc. in Biotechnology (University of Nizwa, Oman), an MSc. in Environmental Sciences (University of Cologne, Germany) and a PhD in Agricultural Sciences (University of Bonn, Germany) and an International Doctorate in Development Studies (Center for Development Research/ZEF, Germany). She is an expert on organic waste recycling, use of insects for food and feed and bioeconomy and has held various roles both in the industry and academia.
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Simangele Shakwane
Senior lecturer, Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA)
Simangele Shakwane
Senior lecturer, Department of Health Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA)
South Africa
Dr. Simangele Shakwane is a registered nurse, midwifery practitioner and health sciences educator. She obtained her BA in nursing sciences from UNISA in 2011, including her postgraduate qualifications (MA 2015 and PhD 2018). She is a senior lecturer in the Department of Health Studies at UNISA. She has developed a model for teaching intimate care to nursing students. She is currently doing a postdoctoral research project on implementing the mentioned model and collaborating with the National Research Foundation (NRF) for three years (2022-2024). She advocates for transformative knowledge of the touched body with emphasis on respect and integrity of the human body regardless of their diversity (gender, culture and religion).
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Sudeshna Das
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, Emory University, USA
Sudeshna Das
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, Emory University, USA
India
Sudeshna Das earned her PhD from the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India. Her doctoral research concentrated on AI-driven Gender Bias Identification in Textbooks. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, Emory University, USA, where she is part of the Sarker Lab. Her research interests lie at the intersection of AI and Social Good, with a particular focus on gender equity in education and healthcare. Prior to her doctoral research, she studied computer science and engineering, leading to an MTech from the National Institute of Technology Durgapur, India, and a BTech from West Bengal University of Technology, India.
