Beijing, June 6 (Reporter Sun Zifa) The Chinese Academy of Sciences released news that on the afternoon of June 20, local time, researcher Fu Qiaomei of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Paleovertebrate Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) was awarded the UNESCO International Award for Outstanding Young Scientists in the Field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (referred to as the "Al Fuzan Award") at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. In recognition of his important and original work in constructing the genetic history of early Eurasia populations through paleogenomes, bringing new insights into human health and adaptation from an evolutionary perspective.
The Prize is UNESCO's first international prize since 2022 to promote the work of young scientists in STEM (Science Science, Technology Technology, Engineering Engineering, Mathematics) fields, awarded every two years to five young laureates working in STEM fields, to recognize and reward scientists at national, regional and global levels that contribute to capacity-building, Achievements in scientific and socio-economic development, thereby promoting education, scientific progress, science popularization and international cooperation in STEM fields.
As one of the leading scientists in the field of paleogenetics in the world, young Chinese scientist Fu Qiaomei competed with Abdon Atangana from Cameroon, Hesham Omran from Egypt, and Jelena Vladi from Serbia in the selection of this award. Together with Federico Ariel of Argentina, the first UNESCO "Alfozan Prize" was selected from 2500,4 candidates from around the world, and four other young scientists were awarded for innovative research and promotion in the fields of mathematics, semiconductor chip and microelectronics design, green engineering, and agricultural biotechnology.
According to the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher Fu Qiaomei is the director of the laboratory of molecular paleontology of the institute and a professor at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, she has long been engaged in paleogenetics research, mainly exploring important scientific issues of human origin and evolution around ancient DNA. As the first Chinese scientist to receive UNESCO's "Alfozan Award", Fu Qiaomei has won praise and important international influence for China in the field of scientific and technological innovation.
For more than ten years, Fu Qiaomei has led the team to develop key technologies of ancient DNA, and has made many major international research findings in the genetic characteristics of early Eurasia, gene exchange between populations and the history of migration and diffusion, such as deciphering the world's and the oldest modern human genome in East Asia, unlocking the map of Eurasian populations during the Ice Age, systematically mapping the dynamic genetic history of East Asian populations over the past 4,<> years, and revealing the adaptive evolution characteristics of modern humans in East Asia. The relevant research has been selected as one of the top ten scientific events in Nature, one of the world's top ten new understandings of human origin research, and one of the top ten advances in Chinese science, which has had a major international impact. Due to the importance of her research, she was named one of the "Top Ten Science Stars in China" by Nature, and won the Special Award of China Youth Science and Technology Award, the China Young Women Science Award, the Chen Jiageng Youth Science Award Life Science Award, and the Tencent First Science Exploration Award. (End)