Erba woman wins UNESCO prize

A 34-year-old woman received the award for an eyeglasses project for people with disabilities Her research could put a smile on the face of the thousands of people who every year are disfigured due to facial paralysis and the inability to move the muscles on one side of their face.   She is only 34 but because of her curriculum she received one of the five annual grants that L'Oreal assigns to UNESCO for young scientists in the life sciences sector. Her name is Alice Frigerio, she comes from Erba and she is a Milan University physiopathologist and maxillofacial surgeon.   The prize of 15,000 euros was presented to her by Umberto Veronesi, the president of the jury that selected the winning projects. Frigerio is developing a prototype of bionic eyeglasses for rehabilitating unilateral facial paralysis. An interface records the movements of the healthy side of the face and they are replicated in real time on the paralyzed side.   Born in Erba, Frigerio went to school in the same town: elementary school in Via Battisti, Puecher middle school, the science-oriented high school Galilei. She graduated in medicine from Milan University and recently returned to Erba where her family lives in Via Torti: her father Giuseppe (69), a retired company director, and her mother, Giuseppina. "We are very proud of this award" her mother said after her daughter was a guest on "Unomattina", a Raiuno television program.   Source: "La Provincia di Como"