On October 22, Vox is co-hosting a panel and reception honoring the 2o26 L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science 2026 Award recipients, our second year celebrating this group of scientists.

The program, part of the global L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science initiative, recognizes five women postdoctoral scientists whose research ranges from bioengineering to astronomy. Meet them below:

Dr. Danielle Stevens: Innate Immunity, Computational Biology — University of California, Berkeley

Using artificial intelligence to speed up the engineering of disease-resistant crops by targeting plant immune receptors, with the goal of cutting global pesticide use and protecting our food supply.

Dr. Anna Romanov: Bioengineering: Immunology — Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Integrating bioengineering, synthetic biology, and immunology to build molecular technologies that reveal how B-cells evolve, then applying those insights to the development of vaccines and biologic therapies.

Dr.…