[:es]UNESCO, Cuba Grant Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology[:]

[:es]Paris, Nov 6.- Scientists Shahida Hasnain (Pakistan) and Samir Saha (Bangladesh) will receive today the UNESCO Carlos J. Finlay prize for microbiology today, an award established by initiative of the Cuban government.

The winners of the award were named by the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, based on the recommendations of an international jury composed of experts in the matter.

The prize will be granted within the framework of the 39th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, which began last week and will run until November 14, in the presence of the 195 member states.

According to a statement on the winners, Shahida Hasnain is a founder and director of the department of microbiology and molecular genetics at University of the Punjab, in Pakistan, which is considered a center of excellence.

The specialist spends studying in the field of the environmental, agricultural, medical and industrial microbiology, and due to her work, she has received several awards.

Samir Saha directs the microbiology department of the Shishu pediatric hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and is executive director of the Foundation for health and childhood research in that nation.

Saha played a key role in the introduction in Bangladesh of vaccines against two bacteria responsible for meningitis, which had a direct impact on the health of children, the statement says.

The Carlos J. Finlay Prize for microbiology was established by UNESCO in 1977 by initiative of the Cuban government and is granted to scientists with researches and works that will make an important contribution to the field of microbiology. (PL)[:]