The evolution of radiobiology through the work of women scientists: the work of Christiane Ferradini.

PURPOSE: Pay tribute to Christiane Ferradini and highlight the importance of her work as a scientist. CONCLUSIONS: Christiane Ferradini was born in 1924 in the south of France. She graduated from the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France. In 1947, she joined the Curie Laboratory of the Radium Institute (which was then under the leadership of Madame Irène Joliot-Curie) to pursue her doctoral research. After her defence in 1955, she commenced her journey dedicated to the advancement of science. She became an exceptional teacher. She led a research group that contributed, through many fruitful collaborations, to the opening of a new chapter in radiation biology and medicine. Together they shed light on free radical formation and their reactions with biomolecules. Christiane published a total of 190 scientific articles and 9 books. She died in 2002.

Personalities and their contribution to the development of radiation oncology.

Radiotherapy is an integral part of multidisciplinary clinical oncology as one of the basic treatment modalities. Historical evolution of radiation oncology from X-ray discovery, through the discovery of radioactivity by Maria Curie-Sklodowska and her husband Pierre Curie and other worldwide scientists do not appear without the overview of eminent personalities of Czech and Slovak radiotherapy, who have deserved to develop this medical field from its beginnings to the present time.

Doctor Carlos Manuel Miyares Cao, paradigma de médico / Dr. Carlos Manuel Miyares Cao, an example of an outstanding doctor

José Martí sentenció: "Saberse sacrificar es el precio del éxito durable en todo", y con grandes sacrificios y éxitos en su vida laboral se resume la obra del Dr. Carlos Manuel Miyares Cao, un médico excepcional que supo vincular sus responsabilidades administrativas con la investigación y desarrollo, y la asistencia médica. Incansable luchador por los avances de la Medicina, gestor de la Escuela Cubana de Farmacología, representa un gran ejemplo para los médicos cubanos y de Latinoamérica. Durante su vida estudiantil, colaboró de forma destacada en las actividades que se desarrollaban en la época, siendo fundador de las milicias revolucionarias. Miyares Cao fue uno de los estudiantes de Medicina, fundador integrante de la Milicia Universitaria José Antonio Echeverría, quien con la simbólica camisa rojo vino, pantalón gris y boina negra, desfilaría el 27 de noviembre de 1959 desde la Universidad hasta la explanada de La Punta para rendir tributo a los 8 estudiantes de Medicina, y al decir de él, uno de sus más fraternales compañeros de estudios: ;lo recuerdo muy claro, alto, que por su estatura iba entre las filas finales, con su rifle y marchando con marcada disciplina, tal cual fue en su vida", con sus palabras reflejó los preceptos conceptuales que connotaron su existencia". El Dr. Miyares fue nombrado entre los primeros Instructores no graduados en la cátedra de Farmacología de la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de La Habana, tras la renuncia de los profesores universitarios. Asimismo, fundador de la AJR (Asociación Jóvenes Rebeldes) y Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (UJC universitaria). Tuvo el privilegio de ser de los primeros egresados de la Revolución y su graduación, presidida, en el oriental Pico Turquino, por Fidel Castro, en 1965(AU)

José Martí said: "Knowing how to sacrifice is the price of lasting success for everything". The working life of Dr. Carlos Manuel Miyares Cao is summed up in great sacrifice and success. He was an outstanding doctor who knew how to link his administrative responsibilities to research and development and medical care. As a tireless fighter for the advances of medicine, he was the founder of the Cuban School of Pharmacology and a notable example for Cuban and Latin American doctors. During his student life, he collaborated with important activities that took place at his time, being founder of the revolutionary militias. During his medical studies, he was a founder member of the University Militias "José Antonio Echeverría". Wearing the symbolic red wine shirt, gray pants and black beret, he paraded on November 27, 1959 from the university to the Punta esplanade to pay tribute to the 8 medical students. One of his most fraternal fellow students says, "... I remember him very clearly; he was tall and because of his height he was among the ranks of the final lines; with his rifle he used to march with the discipline that characterized him during all his life." With his words, he illustrated the principles and convictions that marked his existence. After the resignation of university professors, Dr. Miyares was appointed among the first undergraduate Pharmacy instructors at the Department of Pharmacology of the School of Medicine of the University of Havana. He was also the founder of the AJR (Association of Young Rebels) and the UJC (Union of Young Communists) in the university. He had the privilege to be one of the first graduates after de triumph of the Revolution. His graduation, which was held at Pico Turquino in eastern Cuba, was presided by Fidel Castro in 1965(AU)

Wah Soon Chow, a teacher, a friend and a colleague.

To finish this special issue, some friends, colleagues and students of Prof. Chow (Emeritus Professor, the Research School of Biology, the Australian National University) have written small tributes to acknowledge not only his eminent career but to describe his wonderful personality.

Jacek Namiesnik-Analytical Chemist and Dedicated Biker: From Wine Analysis to Toxic Compounds.

Jacek Namiesnik, who died at the age of 69, was one of the most influential analytical chemists in Poland at the second half of the 20th century and the first two decades of the 21st century [...].

Changes in the National Cancer Institute's R01 workforce: growth, aging, retention, and policy implications.

Scientific progress and discovery of preventions and cures for life-threatening diseases depend on the vitality of the biomedical research workforce. We analyzed the workforce of cancer researchers applying for and receiving R01 awards from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) from fiscal years 1990 to 2016, the last year prior to implementation of the Next Generation Researchers Initiative. Here we report that the NCI R01 Principal Investigator (PI) workforce expanded 1.4-fold and aged over this time frame. We tracked 9 age groups and found that the number of PIs in the 3 oldest groups increased dramatically, in contrast with the younger groups. Sustained increases in the number of funded older PIs stemmed from increases in the number of older PIs submitting applications, rather than higher funding rates for older PIs. The decline in the number of funded younger PIs was driven in part by (a) a marked increase in time from PhD degree to first R01 application and award, as well as (b) a decrease in retention of PIs in the funded R01 workforce beyond their first R01 award. The NCI is using these and other analyses to inform strategies and policies for attracting, supporting, and retaining meritorious early-career researchers.