In February, FEBS Letters celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science by opening a writing contest, inviting researchers to share stories about their female role models in science.

We received dozens of excellent submissions from a wide range of researchers—including not only bioscientists, but also physical and social scientists. Our entrants wrote to celebrate inspiring women and their contributions to science, to praise their mentors and colleagues, and to highlight challenges faced by female researchers past and present.

Today, we're pleased to announce the winner of our 2025 Writing Contest: congratulations, Rayane da Cruz Albino! We look forward to publishing her winning essay, “Black Pitch Illuminated: The legacy of Professor Jean H. Langenheim”, in the Scientists' Forum this autumn.

Albino is a PhD candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, specializing in ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry. Her essay celebrates a pioneering scientist whose field research laid the groundwork for Albino's own budding career in ethnobotany.

We further congratulate our two runners-up:

• Dr. Cara Giovanetti (UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), whose essay “It Takes a Village: Preparing women in science for difficult times” considers the confluence of gender bias and anti-science attitudes, through interviews with prominent physical scientists
• Mahaiwon Shadang (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), whose essay “The Other Women” offers a warm and personal reflection on her network of female colleagues and how they create a supportive lab environment. 

Their essays will also be published in the Scientists' Forum later this year. We thank all researchers who shared their writing with us, and we hope these three thematically diverse essays will broaden our readers' perspectives on what it means to celebrate women in science!