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Mexican virologist Susana López Charretón uncovered rotaviruses’ secrets

Her research contributed to the development of life-saving vaccines

A photo of Susana López Charretón studying rotaviruses at her desk.

Susana López Charretón, photographed here by daughter Alejandra Arias, has been studying rotaviruses for more than four decades.

Courtesy of S. López Charretón

By Inés Gutiérrez Jaber

Susana López Charretón is among Mexico’s leading virologists. She has been awarded the UNESCO–Carlos J. Finlay Prize for Microbiology and the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science award. She’s the only female Mexican scientist to have edited the Journal of Virology.

But winning prizes isn’t what inspires her science and her career.