Hi! PARIS PhD Student Sonia Mazelet Receives the 2026 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science France Young Talents Award
Hi! PARIS PhD student Sonia Mazelet has been named among the 2026 laureates of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science France Young Talents Award.
AI to Better Understand Brain Data
Sonia Mazelet is a PhD student at CMAP, a joint research unit of CNRS, École polytechnique and Institut Polytechnique de Paris. Her PhD research, supervised by Hi! PARIS Fellow Rémi Flamary, focuses on using artificial intelligence to analyze complex brain data.
As part of her PhD, she is developing a deep learning algorithm designed to compare complex brain data from multiple individuals while taking their individual characteristics into account. The approach transforms these data into simpler representations that can be more easily analyzed.
At the intersection of mathematics, artificial intelligence and neuroscience, her work aims to improve the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in order to better understand the geometry and connections of the brain and decode its activity.
According to Sonia Mazelet, these results could help researchers study the brains of large numbers of people in order to better understand certain diseases or differences between individuals.
The methods developed through this research could also have applications in other scientific fields, including biology and chemistry.
A Recognition That Supports the Next Generation of Women in Science
For Sonia Mazelet, the award also represents an opportunity to encourage more young women to pursue scientific careers:
“This award is a great honor and a valuable recognition that strengthens my motivation to pursue my research. It also gives me greater visibility, which I hope to use to encourage young girls to pursue scientific careers.”
Led by the L’Oréal Foundation, UNESCO and the French Academy of Sciences, the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science France program recognizes young women researchers for the excellence of their scientific work.
The program also aims to increase the visibility of women in science and support them in pursuing their research careers.
Hi! PARIS congratulates Sonia Mazelet on this recognition and Rémi Flamary for his contribution to the supervision her research.