Alicia Dickenstein: Mathematics at the Service of Innovation

Mathematics - Laureate for Latin America and the Caribbean

Professor Alicia Dickenstein is operating at the forefront of mathematical innovation by leveraging algebraic geometry in the realm of molecular biology to understand the precise structures and behaviors of molecules and cells, even at a microscopic scale. As an outstanding mathematician operating at the frontier between pure and applied mathematics, she has also forged important links to physics and chemistry. Unraveling these complex systems enables researchers to predict how concentrations of chemical elements within cells evolve over time. This could help determine the appropriate concentration of medicine to provide to a patient, for example.

Professor Dickenstein had always enjoyed maths at school, and recalls the joy of looking at cells through a microscope. Her career has seen her make great strides since then, working directly on the biological applications of mathematics.

In a scientific field with a particularly low representation of female researchers, Professor Dickenstein is driven by a longstanding conviction that women can do anything, a belief that was both nurtured by her school and her family. She remains keenly aware of the obstacles for women scientists in gaining equal research and career opportunities, and the subtle, yet persistent forms of gender discrimination that continue throughout society.

For Professor Dickenstein, the benefits of gender equality in science are clear:
 
“If we make the natural assumption that talent is equally distributed, we are losing many talents if there is no balance between genders.”

Among the promising signs of change, she notes the recent recognition of women at the highest echelons of science – through the Abel Prize in Mathematics in 2019 and the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry in 2020. Yet, there is still a way to go to achieve gender equality in science.