Emirati Teen Alia Al Mansoori Represents UAE at 114th Explorers Club Annual Awards Dinner in New York
April 20, 2018
NEW YORK – March 27, 2018 – Alia Al Mansoori, aspiring astronaut and winner of the “Genes in Space” competition, traveled to New York to attend the 114th Explorers Club Annual Dinner, the world’s largest event honoring leading explorers and field scientists. The gathering, held at the Marriott Marquis in New York’s iconic Times Square, drew more than 1,200 scientists and guests from around the globe. Al Mansoori’s visit to New York was supported by the UAE Embassy Trade Office in Washington, DC and the UAE Consulate in New York.
“Young Emirati women play a critical role in the development and progress of the UAE’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sector,” Consul General Majid Al-Suwaidi said. “The UAE is extremely proud of Alia’s accomplishments and her energy, enthusiasm and commitment to help lead the next generation of UAE innovators and explorers.”
At 15 years-old, Al Mansoori became known in the science world after she won the Genes in Space UAE competition, a contest run by the Boeing Company, the UAE Space Agency, and The National, which challenges students from grades 7 through 12 to design experiments that will help uncover how space impacts DNA.
Al Mansoori’s winning experiment studied how gene expression changes induced by stress, such as by cosmic radiation and microgravity, can be detected in space. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in August 2017, her experiment was tested by astronaut Peggy Whitson on the International Space Station, and successfully detected stress-induced gene expression using a simple technique known as the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR.
"Alia is one of the most promising and impressive young scientists I've ever met, and she perfectly encapsulates the dinner's theme of Next Generation Exploration. I was so impressed with her demeanor – she is a great ambassador, not only for her country, but also for the wider scientific community," Richard Wiese, President of The Explorers Club, said.
Other notable attendees of the Explorers Club Annual Dinner included former NASA astronaut and commander of the Apollo 13 mission Captain James A. Lovell, former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
"My visit to New York was very inspiring. During the Explorers Club dinner, I was able to meet so many people who I look up to, like astronauts and scientists and I got to learn about their experiences in their fields,” Al Al Mansoori said. “It was an honor for me to attend the event and show everyone what the UAE is doing.”
The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. Since its inception in 1904, the Club has served as a meeting point and unifying force for explorers and scientists worldwide.
