Her life around stars.

For as long as people remember, women have been undoubtedly involved in science. The Mexican
scientist María Elena Caso became a reference in biological sciences, thanks to her revolutionary
contributions and her dedication for more than 50 years in the study of echinoderms, all this
taking place within a sexist framework from the 1940’s when women were still not allowed to
wear bathing suits.

Maria Elena’s academic life is extraordinarily relevant. She was responsible for the innovative
thesis “Contribution to the understanding of Mexican asteriidae species” that first paved the way
for future researchers to discover unique features on sea stars and many other marine animals.
Besides, Maria Elena’s cutting-edge participation in the funding of the Laboratory of Hydrobiology
in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), an institute that shaped for many years
brilliant scientific careers.

The National Collection of Equinoderms, one of the biggest and most important of Latin America,
is considered to be an accomplishment of the studies Maria Elena carried out. These studies were
very appealing for the conservation and recollection of these species, as well as highlighting the
environmental value of animals, such as sea urchins and cucumbers. She also described and stated
the sub-families, genres, sub-genres, types and varieties of new equinoderms, this led to future
scientist to base their findings on Maria Elena principles and thereby expand the collection.

The work that this remarkable woman made for over 50 years, was and continues to be relevant
not only in Mexico, but also in the world biology scientific community. If Maria Elena’s legacy not
existed, we probably wouldn’t know anything about echinoderms and their characteristics to
preserve them, as well as the importance these has for the environmental balance.