Herminia Pasantes Ordóñez

Born in Mexico City in 1936, Herminia Pasantes Ordóñez was the first in her family to go to college, earning her biology degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where she researched embryology. Pasantes continued her studies at UNAM, receiving her masters in biochemistry. She then completed her doctorate in natural sciences at the University of Strasbourg in France.

Pasantes is best known for her work in discovering an amino acid, taurine, in both the mouse retina and brain cells. Her lab discovered taurine’s function in brain cells as an osmolyte, or a molecule that helps regulate the amount of fluid moving in and outside of a cell. This property helps nerve cells maintain their volume. Her discovery helped clarify why there are high levels of taurine in cells throughout the brain and body, and it provided the basis for understanding how to prevent and treat brain edema, or brain swelling due to excessive accumulation of fluid, which can be induced by events like head trauma or reduced blood supply.

Pasantes has received numerous awards over the years. In 2001, she became the first woman to be awarded Mexico’s prestigious National Prize for Sciences and Arts in physical, mathematical, and natural sciences. Pasantes values being a mentor and creating connections with her students — she has mentored a total of nineteen PhD candidates to receive their doctorates. Many of her mentees are now independent researchers in Mexico and around the globe. Today, she is a writer and an emeritus researcher at the Institute of Cellular Physiology of UNAM, where she studies psychopathologies in neurons and glial cells.