Beating COVID-19 through evidence-based science

Dear supporters,

We hope you are fine and you have had a good summer.

Let us insist on how much we value your generous contribution, which helps us uphold our commitment to promoting scientific vocations, particularly among children and adults in underserved communities.

As published by El País recently, “a recent study has revealed that over half of Nobel Prizes laureates in scientific fields come from families within the top 5% of income earners in their respective countries”. What this finding suggests is that growing up in an affluent family opens doors to superior education and greater opportunities to develop one’s potential. Unfortunately, gifted children from low-income backgrounds, especially in countries with limited access to education and fewer resources, see their talent wasted. Failing to support them not only limits their individual potential, but also deprives society of the contribution these individuals could make.

Since in Apadrina la Ciencia we are strongly committed to inclusion and diversity, we concentrate our efforts on reaching children and adults from underserved communities. Some of the actions that we carry out are workshops, hands-on experiments, and science outreach talks in schools in disadvantaged areas aimed at sparking children’s curiosity, developing science skills while boosting self-confidence and motivation around science.

On the other hand, pursuing a PhD often comes with significant financial barriers as many candidates in Spain face precarious conditions forcing them to rely on personal or family support. However, not all students have the privilege of family support or personal savings to fund their studies. The financial challenges they have to face can discourage talented individuals from pursuing or completing their doctoral studies, leading to a lack of diversity and representation in research fields. In order to narrow the achievement gap and widen the opportunity gap, Apadrina la Ciencia offers pre-doctoral contracts to support early-career researchers, especially those from low-income backgrounds. This way we do our bit to alleviate financial barriers, enabling students to focus on their research without the distraction of financial strain.

We strongly believe that fostering inclusive and supportive environments in science not only ensures equitable opportunities for all individuals, but also enriches the scientific community, which will be better equipped to address the needs of a varied population.

We do not forget that these initiatives are possible thanks to people like you. Once again, thank you so much for being there and supporting us with your donations.

“Padrinos para los futuros científicos. La asociación a nivel nacional 'Apadrina la ciencia' trató de promover vocaciones científicas en 'Expofamily'”:

https://www.diariodenavarra.es/noticias/navarra/2025/05/04/padrinos-futuros-cientificos-646270-300.html?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=besocy&utm_source=Twitter

Article in El País: “¿Es de ricos ganar el Nobel? Siete gráficos curiosos y sin política:

https://elpais.com/espana/2025-05-10/es-de-ricos-la-ciencia-cuanto-sube-la-vivienda-y-que-generacion-mira-mas-tele-siete-graficos-curiosos-y-sin-politica.html

Dear supporters,

We hope you are fine and you are all having a good start to spring.

We would like to express our gratitude for your generous contributions, thanks to which we can successfully continue our mission promoting scientific vocations, particularly among women and girls. And fighting disease spreading through sharing knowledge on virus.

No doubt the role of women in science is crucial for innovation, diversity and societal progress, as they bring unique approaches and ideas, leading to more comprehensive scientific solutions and contributing to economic and technological growth. Since more women in science inspire younger generations to pursue STEM careers, we are strongly committed to the celebration of the 11F International Day of Women and Girls in Science every year as the best way to promote gender equity and challenge stereotypes, with the support of schools, which play a crucial role in disseminating awareness and encouraging young girls.

On this occasion, a team of Apadrina la Ciencia women scientists have led the organization of the 11^th of February to offer 3-12 aged students different scientific activities at CEIP Escuelas Aguirre (Madrid). With the collaboration of many volunteers, we have managed to gather women scientists from different STEM fields such as Engineering, Archeology, Physics, Virology and Biology to participate in scientific talks, hands-on experiments and workshops.

Some of the activities conducted in the school were the gradient sweet rainbow and the chromatography flower experiments; the talks about engineering, the skin and wrinkles, or the experience of a female virologist; the workshops “I spy, I spy, what do you see?”, “Let there be light”, “The components of cells”, “The magic of electricity and magnets” and “Build your own mummy and hieroglyph”. As you can see, the children could learn interesting facts about a wide range of scientific topics: density, microscopy, electricity, fluorescence, cell structure, aeronautics, Egyptology, virus …

With our dissemination actions for the celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we expect to engage students in practical learning, arouse their curiosity, stimulate creative thinking and, above all, serve as female role models by breaking gender stereotypes and promoting an inclusive environment as future scientists. We have received very positive feedback from students and teachers, so we are really pleased to share the experience with you, donors, who make it possible with your generous contribution.

Once again, thank you so much for being part of this important journey. We encourage you to spread the word about our mission, so that even more people can get involved and help us continue with our activities.