Villum Foundation supports outstanding female researchers
Currently, only one in seven professors in these fields is a woman. The further one advances in a typical academic career, the fewer women continue on this path. In short, society is missing out on valuable female research talent.
In response, Villum Foundation has allocated DKK 16.7 million to support seven ambitious and outstanding female researchers in technical and natural sciences. The grants are awarded at a pivotal point in their postdoctoral careers, when women tend to leave academic positions at universities in higher numbers.
One of this year’s recipients, Sara Basse Hansen, will study how we can protect and preserve coral reefs that are threatened by rising ocean temperatures.
“This grant allows me to bring my family across the world to Okinawa, Japan, and pursue my dream of researching an issue I have cared deeply about for many years. I am certain that this experience will strengthen me as a researcher, enabling me to expand both my academic and cultural competencies—both of which will be essential for my future career,” she says.
A mother of two, she had to interrupt her PhD studies twice to take maternity leave.
“Receiving this grant, which supports both my project and me as a researcher, motivates me to take a significant step forward in my academic career at a critical time,” she adds.
Space to Thrive as a Researcher
According to a report by the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, the leaky pipeline of female scientists in academia is often due to gender bias in selection and promotion processes, workplace environment and culture, and structural expectations regarding the researcher’s role.
Lea Kjærgaard Northcote studies how quantum computers can be used to understand and improve energy conversion and other complex chemical processes. Thanks to the grant, she will be able to move to the United States next year to work at one of the world’s top research institutions, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“It’s a dream come true to have the opportunity to conduct research at MIT,” says Lea Kjærgaard Northcote.
“MIT has great strength in both quantum computing and chemistry. I hope my interdisciplinary project can contribute to a better understanding of quantum chemical processes.”
She is mindful of the challenges many female researchers face in balancing career and family life.
“There is a biological and societal bias in what is expected or even physically demanded of women when it comes to having children. Although I don’t have children myself, I see this as a significant issue, and I hope we can develop solutions so that we can thrive as both successful researchers and mothers,” she says.
Villum Foundation’s Executive Chief Scientific Officer Thomas Bjørnholm comments on the Villum International Postdoc Programme:
“Through this programme, we aim to foster a diverse and inclusive research environment where the brightest talents can thrive and contribute to a brighter world —regardless of gender.”
Since 2019, Villum Foundation has awarded DKK 97 million for 41 Villum International Postdoc grants to exceptional female postdoctoral researchers who aspire to an academic career.
Read more about the Villum International Postdoc Programme here: Villum International Postdoc Programme.
- One in three researchers at Danish universities is a woman.
- In 2020, women made up 28 percent of researchers within technical and natural sciences. This is the scientific field with the lowest representation of female researchers.
Source: Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science Report, 2023.
Linnea Worsøe Havmøller: Carnivores and Connectivity: Studying Movement of an Endangered Canid in a Human-Dominated Landscape, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DKK 2.49 million.
Panagiota Elli Stamatopoulou: Nanophotonics in the focus of an electron microscope, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, DKK 2.1 million.
Lea Kjærgaard Northcote: Quantum Simulations of Open Quantum Systems, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, DKK 2.48 million.
Anne Pilgaard Rasmussen: Spectroscopic fingerprints of interstellar ions, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DKK 2.37 million.
Sara Basse Hansen: Coral Harmony: Navigating Climate Change Together, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, DKK 2.49 million.
Anneline Hegelund Christensen: Tailoring bio-inspired nanochannels for separation and filtration processes, DTU Physics, Technical University of Denmark, DKK 2.35 million.
