LCC
Katharina Zimmeter receives the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science France 2026 Award
Congratulations to Katharina Zimmeter on winning the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science France 2026 Award #ForWomenInScience from the @L’Oréal Foundation-@UNESCO.
Katharina Zimmeter is a postdoctoral researcher at the LCC CNRS, where she is studying the role of rare earth elements – metals that are key to our technologies – in the metabolism of certain bacteria. She carries out her research as part of the Alzheimer’s, Amyloids and Bioinorganic Chemistry team (Team F).
We are proud that her dedication and the quality of her work have been recognised by the Académie des Sciences, the L’Oréal Foundation and UNESCO, which support women scientists and inspire the next generation.
35 promising female researchers honoured with the 20th L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science France Award
Paris, 6 October 2026 – 35 doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, whose work addresses the major scientific challenges of the future and who are committed to inspiring future generations of female researchers, have been honoured.
Coming from all regions of France and its overseas territories, and representing a wide range of disciplines, the 35 young scientists were selected from nearly 820 candidates by a jury comprising more than 50 members of the Academy of Sciences, representing the very highest standards in scientific evaluation.
Katharina Zimmeter – Understanding how certain bacteria utilise rare earth elements, the metals that are key to our technologies
Katharina Zimmeter – Understanding how certain bacteria utilise rare earth elements, the metals that are key to our technologies
Katharina Zimmeter grew up in Innsbruck, Austria, where her grandfather’s tales of discovery stimulated her curiosity. After studying pharmacy and then chemistry, she came to Strasbourg, France, to undertake her PhD on the detection of copper in the body – an imbalance observed, amongst others, in Alzheimer’s disease. She is now a postdoctoral researcher at the LCC in Toulouse, where she is studying the role of rare earth elements – metals that are key to our technologies – in the metabolism of certain bacteria. Committed to sharing knowledge, she is actively involved in teaching and science dissemination.
LCC CNRS
Laboratoire de chimie de coordination du CNRS
205 route de Narbonne, BP 44099
31077 Toulouse cedex 4
France
+ 33 5 61 33 31 00
