At this very moment, squiggling and squirming inside your gut are millions upon millions of tiny strands of bacteria that scientists believe may hold the key to understanding inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and human health.
As a trailblazer in this unchartered territory, Dr. Carolina Tropini is helping unravel the mysterious world of bacterial communities in the intestines, leading her research team in a bid to seek a treatment, if not a cure, for IBD. A biophysicist and Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia, Tropini won this year’s Johnson & Johnson Women in Science, Technology, Math, Manufacturing and Design Scholars Award in the field of engineering, a prize that includes a grant of US$150,000 and mentorship support for the next three years. Six winners were selected from 541 nominees worldwide. As a member of a small but growing number of pioneering women of science, Tropini is the first Canadian to be honoured with the award since its launch in 2017.
