María Blasco: «Science is not a world of men»

The molecular biologist and director of the National Cancer Research Center is the new protagonist of the "Women of Science" project, an initiative promoted by the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Las Naves innovation center of the city council.

The molecular biologist and director of the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) María Blasco, whose figure presides over the main entrance of the Sorolla Institute of Secondary Education (IES) in Valencia, highlighted this Saturday that it is "very important" that "girls and boys see that science is not a man's world."

Blasco is the new protagonist of the "Women of Science" project, an initiative promoted by the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) and the Las Naves innovation center of the Valencia City Council, according to sources from the academic institution.

This new intervention, the work of the Cantabrian artist María Barrachina, is located at the main entrance of the IES Sorolla, in Valencia, and the mural highlights a large portrait of María Blasco, surrounded by different references that refer to her scientific career: from a large DNA helix, to several pairs of chromosomes with their telomeres and a mouse resting on an hourglass

“The mouse refers to his studies, in which he has obtained longer-lived and disease-free mice. For this reason, he appears leaning on an hourglass, which tells us that time is money. “Each one of us carries in our cells this biological clock that determines our life and death,” says the Torrelavega artist.

At the top of the mural, the name of the researcher stands out in gold tones and crossed by an inverted triangle. “With this I wanted to highlight the importance of María Blasco in the scientific field. Furthermore, she openly expresses her feminist vision when it comes to praising and defending the role of women as senior officials within this sector,” explained Barrachina, during the presentation of the mural.

During the presentation of the mural, María Blasco showed her satisfaction with the tribute and praised the work carried out by María Barrachina. “The mural reflects very well who I am and what I have done. I love the mouse, the hourglass, the DNA helix, the chromosomes and I love that there is the inverted triangle that somehow represents feminism.”

Blasco has also highlighted the importance of the project promoted by the UPV and Las Naves, "since it makes visible the figure of women scientists in different parts of Valencia, and it also does so with the help of female artists" and has stressed that it is "It is very important for girls and boys to see that science is not a man's world, but that it is done by women."

"At the CNIO, 70% of the research staff are women: there are many women doing research. What happens is that the laboratory management positions, the laboratory heads, have not yet reached 50%, we are at more or less 30% and that is something that has to change and that we are trying to change.”

With this, there are now ten murals that fill the streets of Valencia with art and science, in feminine form, thanks to the Women of Science project, which also has the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of the Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Among others, this project has already paid tribute to Margarita Salas, Anna Lluch. Valentina Tereshkova, Rosalind Franklin or Katherine Johnson. And during the coming weeks it will honor Jane Goodall, Marie Curie, Concepción Aleixandre and Dolors Corella. And always, also, by the hand of outstanding artists, references in the field of mural art.