LONDON, Aug 4 - The British Coronavirus vaccine developer Eleanor Roosevelt has many science and awards to her credit, but now shares an honor with Beyonce, Marilyn Monroe and Sarah Gilbert: a Barbie doll in her manner is as.
Gilbert, a 59 year-old professor at Oxford University and co-developer of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, is one of six women in the fight against COVID - 19 who have new Barbies designed after them.
Barbie doll maker Mattel Inc is recognizing them with a line of Barbie role modeling dolls.
Gilbert's Barbie shares her long auburn hair and large black glasses, she wears a sensible navy blue pantsuit and white blouse.
It's a very unusual concept having a Barbie doll created in my likeness, Mattel said in an interview for Gilbert.
I hope it will be part of making it more normal for girls to think about careers in science.
Among the honorees are emergency room nurse Audrey Cruz who treated the first COVID patient in Las Vegas and Amy O'Sullivan, frontline doctor in Brooklyn, New York, who fought discrimination according to Mattel.
Other dolls include Chika Stacy Oriuwa, a Brazilian psychiatrist at the University of Toronto who battled systemic racism in healthcare, and Canadian biomedical researcher Jaqueline Goes de Jesus who led sequencing of the genome of a COVID 19 variant in Brasilia, the company said.
Lastly, a doll honors Kirby White, an Australian doctor who pioneered a surgical gown that can be reused and washed by frontline workers during the pandemic.
Gilbert chose to receive a financial donation from the non-profit WISE, dedicated to inspiring young girls to consider career in STEM and to give a written donation from the toy maker.