Dr. Mónica Sans Afamado, researcher at the Department of Biological Anthropology of the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences of the University of the Republic (UDELAR) of Uruguay, was awarded the L'OREAL national award on September 19. UNESCO.
Upon graduating from secondary education in 1974, Mónica Sans could not enter the Faculty of Medicine because it was closed that year. She then chose to begin a career in veterinary medicine. It was then that he had his first contact with genetics. The following year he changed his mind and wanted to do chemistry; However, she quickly realized that it wasn't her thing and left it.
His father told him that what was then the Faculty of Sciences and Humanities was opening a career in Anthropology. In the second year he learned about physical anthropology – today biological anthropology – and found his calling. Then, he entered the Basic Sciences Development Program (Pedeciba) and for a time he was the only person on his team.
Today it is the reference in biological anthropology in Uruguay.
The project for which she was awarded is titled: “Phylogeography of Y chromosomes for the understanding of the origin and relationships of the indigenous people of Uruguay and their descendants”, which aims to contribute to the knowledge of the prehistoric and historical settlement of the Cuenca region. del Plata, establishing phylogeographic relationships and the age of common ancestors.
Until now, work has been done on maternal DNA; with the execution of the project that will be financed by L'Oréal, the analysis will be extended to paternal inheritance, with its peculiar characteristics and inherent complexity.
The results of the study aim to revalue knowledge of the indigenous, knowledge about migratory routes as well as relationships with other populations in the region. It is also supported for the purposes of knowing about pathologies or diseases that may come from ancestors, especially taking into account that there are already studies that show that the 34% of the Uruguayan population has at least one indigenous ancestor.
The award is endowed with U$S 20,000 (twenty thousand US dollars) intended to contribute for a maximum period of two years, to the execution of a project led by a Uruguayan scientist, thus supporting her scientific career and her research projects and fulfilling the objective of the Prize to consolidate the female role in the conception of scientific solutions to the problems of the national reality and of all of humanity.