Contact
GCUA 2030 coordinator
Elisabeth Rajala
Telephone: +46 18 672036, +46 73 801 33 56
E-mail: elisabeth.rajala@slu.se
Interview with the winner of Thesis of the year
Last changed: 17 February 2021
Thesis of the year is a competition hosted by GCUA 2030 where participants send in a short film and a written text about their doctoral thesis. The jury nominated Maria Elisa Quinteros Caceres for her communicative film and very interesting text about how air pollution may affect pregnant women and their new-born.
Congratulations Maria Elisa, the worthy winner of Thesis of the year 2019! Please tell us a little about yourself and your research.
Thank you very much, I am honoured to be awarded Thesis of the year 2019.
I have developed my career in Environment and Public Health. In 2015, I started the doctoral studies working in Environmental, perinatal and reproductive epidemiology being my field of interest pregnancy, air pollution and green space.
Nowadays, I am contributing to the sustainable development of my Alma Mater (University of Talca). I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, traveling, reading books and being in contact with nature.
My research contributes substantively to international and local scientific knowledge because it has quantified the effect that environmental have on maternal and fetal health. This constitutes an urgent call to action: we should protect our natural resources and migrate to clean energies through public policies based on evidence to preserve our and the future generations' well-being.
How come your thesis is about the connection between environment and pregnancies?
I love Public Health thanks to the holistic way we can deal with humans living in communities, surrounded by the natural systems on which they depend.
Do you have any tips to those who like to apply for the contest next year?
I would like to advise the next year participants: try to keep it easy! In our thesis process we learnt many specific knowledge and tools. Sometimes, when we want to translate that knowledge to the community, we start to walk in circles. A good way to keep it simple could keep the contact with your population target and try to incorporate cultural and social pertinence.
Also, I could say that it is important to enjoy the process. Try to transmit to the audience the love and dedication that we put in our doctoral thesis work. Finally, if you are not an English native person, send your application anyway. Trust in yourself and your abilities!