Janaína Calu Costa, a research fellow affiliated with the International Center of Equity in Health, and currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, USA, won the ScientistA Award 2024. The winner and the five honorable mentions have been announced this week in a ceremony at the Brazilian General Consulate in New York. The award ceremony also celebrated the bicentennial year of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the United States.

The 19 finalists working on different areas of life and medical sciences were chosen through a peer-review process focusing on scientific merit and innovation. The award recognizes and rewards the professional achievements and exceptional contributions of Brazilian female scientists working in the United States, intending to inspire the next generation of Brazilian leaders in Science and Technology. 

The award organizing committee is led by Dimension Sciences, a fully volunteer-run organization that supports underrepresented scientists with scholarships and awards; Grupo Mulheres do Brasil; and the Pesquisadores Universitários Brasileiros organizations and counts on the institutional support of the Brazilian Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Brazilian Consulates in New York (NY), Boston (MA), and San Francisco (CA).

Dr. Janaina Costa earned an MS and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the Federal University of Pelotas and since 2015 has been working at the International Center for Equity in Health on research addressing gender and ethnic inequalities in women's and children's health and nutrition.