Soledad Funes, the first woman to coordinate scientific research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), argues that academia must work in alliance with governments, the productive sector and society to help guide political decisions and find solutions to the consequences of climate change.
When Soledad Funes (Mexico City, 1975) was in high school, her biology teacher took her class to see the field work being carried out by a group from the Faculty of Science at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). It was a project for the conservation of sea turtles on the beaches of Michoacán. It was there that she decided to study biology. Little did this curious girl, who was educated in an alternative school, know that years later she would become the first woman to coordinate scientific research at the Mexican university. “It is important for women to occupy high management positions, not only for reasons of representation or visibility, but also to incorporate different perspectives in decision-making,” she says.
Soledad Funes graduated in Biology from UNAM and completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at its Institute of Cell Physiology (IFC). She then moved to Germany, where she spent almost seven years combining two postdoctoral research stays in two different laboratories at the University of Munich. “I focused more on biochemistry and structural biology,” she recalls. On her second attempt, she was able to return to the IFC in 2009 as a researcher with her own laboratory. “My research revolves around what you could call mitochondrial biogenesis,” she describes. This refers to the multitude of reactions and processes that take place in order for mitochondria—the cellular compartments where most of the energy we need for our metabolic functions is produced—to function properly.
In 2021, Dr Funes became director of the IFC, and it was there that she realised how inspiring it could be for the next generation to see a woman in a position of responsibility. “Our society has built many structures that have normalised a wide range of violent behaviour; unfortunately, the academic environment has not been spared from reproducing it,” she acknowledges. “Women have been systematically excluded from certain positions or academic posts,” she admits. “The fact that we now hold more positions of responsibility and decision-making makes it easier to break with the long tradition of discrimination, and not only against women,” she adds. The change, “which has been neither spontaneous nor easy,” is the result of a decades-long struggle, she says. “Those of us who are in these positions today are only there because of the struggle of the many who came before us,” she adds.
“The fact that women occupy positions of authority necessarily has an impact on the construction of a more egalitarian and respectful academic and working environment. We have been systematically excluded from certain positions or academic posts.”
“In a few years, my photo will occupy a place in the middle of a gallery where there are now 18 men,” says Dr Funes, alluding to her current position as director of scientific research at UNAM, which she took up in December 2023. From there, she intends to strengthen the university’s four programmes that address emerging issues related to climate change and sustainability. These are initiatives that come from the academic community to link and collaborate with external public and private entities: the University Programme for Sustainable Food (PUAS), the Climate Change Research Programme (PINCC), the University Programme for Interdisciplinary Soil Studies (PUEIS), and the University Programme for Research on Epidemiological Risks and Emerging Diseases (PUIREE).
UNAM leads the multidisciplinary German-Latin American Centre for Infection and Epidemiology Research and Training (GLACIER) initiative in Mexico, which involves institutions from Germany, Cuba and Mexico. “It aims to strengthen epidemiological surveillance mechanisms and the prevention of infectious diseases through the implementation of actions that promote research and the training of human resources, thus increasing our capacity for prevention, monitoring, care and treatment in the face of future pandemics,” says Soledad Funes.
“The effects of unchecked resource exploitation, unconscious and individualistic, are increasingly apparent. It is no longer just about water or the extinction of a species; what’s at stake is life on the planet as we know it, and therefore our very existence.”
“The alteration of ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity, largely due to the overexploitation of non-renewable resources, are creating an environmental imbalance that is leading the planet to a point of no return,” she warns. She defends the key role of academia and scientific institutions in finding solutions to the threats and challenges we face. The first step is to generate new basic and applied scientific knowledge to help understand the phenomena associated with climate change. But she believes we need to go further by disseminating and presenting what science is telling us to decision-makers and society at large, “so as to promote the adoption of evidence-based public policies in favour of sustainability.”
In her opinion, “it is crucial to work in alliance between academia, government, the productive sector and society, so that knowledge can develop its full transformative capacity and enable a more egalitarian, just and inclusive society, in harmony with the environment,” she will stress several times during the interview. UNAM is moving in this direction, speaking out on issues of public importance such as the energy transition or the sustainable management of land, water resources and food production methods. It is also developing projects to create tools and strategies to tackle climate change, improve air quality and promote sustainable development in urban areas.
“For those thinking of going into research, there are non-academic alternatives, such as the private sector or entrepreneurship. There are also other opportunities, such as public policy development, journalism or editorial work in scientific journals.”
“Young people are very aware that when it comes to environmental issues, there are no individual problems; every decision that is taken affects the planet and, therefore, humanity as a whole,” observes Soledad Funes. “If something is to be done to limit the damage that has already been done, it is necessary to take a transversal and multidisciplinary approach,” she concludes.
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