Overview
- Gabriela Pagnussat won the 19th National Prize and 15 million pesos for CRISPR‑dCas9 activation of the splicing factor SWAP to build heat tolerance in plants.
- Mehrnoosh Arrar received the junior fellowship and 10 million pesos for high‑performance simulations of the dengue virus NS3 helicase to inform antiviral design.
- The awards were presented on November 11 at the Centro Cultural de la Ciencia in Buenos Aires after 124 life‑sciences submissions were evaluated.
- Pagnussat’s team plans agronomic testing in soybean and rice and is advancing translation through the ThermoReLeaf startup, while Arrar coordinates predictions with labs that test live virus.
- Additional recognitions included Eva Acosta Rodríguez (rheumatoid arthritis), Luciana Balboa (pleural tuberculosis strategy), and mentions for Myriam Boivin and Sabrina Gavini, with organizers emphasizing the program’s role in visibility and research continuity.