The Princess of Girona Awards Recognize Two Young Advocates for Health Access in Latin America

The Princess of Girona Foundation recognized Valentina Agudelo (Colombia, 28 years old) and Gabriela Asturias (Guatemala, 29 years old) this Monday with the International Award in the CreaEmpresa and Research categories. These awards aim to acknowledge the achievements of young people up to 35 years old from Ibero-American countries who have excelled in scientific research and the business field.

The jury unanimously decided to honor the two Latin American women because their projects achieve “a combination of science, public health, and technology with an applied, inclusive approach focused on social impact.”

At an event held at the Teatro del Bosque in Móstoles, attended by King Felipe VI and the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the two young women received their awards. “I would just like to thank the team that works with me, with whom we dedicate our lives to democratizing access to health,” said Agudelo quickly upon receiving the award. Asturias, for her part, expressed feeling “honored” to represent her country in a competition that evaluated dozens of other projects before choosing hers as the winner.

Asturias is a scientist, physician, and entrepreneur. In 2015, the young woman — a graduate in Neuroscience from Duke University and a doctor from Stanford University, both in the United States — opened the doors of the Development Foundation for Guatemala for Education and Health (Fundegua), through which she channels her “research and vocation for service” back to her country. One of her main developments has been ALMA, an AI-based chatbot that a million people in Guatemala turned to during the pandemic to seek information about COVID-19 and that continues to provide education and medical advice to vulnerable communities.

In an interview with Adolfo Kunjuk News, Asturias stated that this award will likely change the course of her career. “One of the most important aspects of this recognition is that it legitimizes our project, and that can open new doors for more people to reach it,” she said. She added: “Artificial intelligence, like the one we use in ALMA, will never replace the personal interaction with a doctor or psychologist, but it is helping many people realize for the first time that they need to seek some type of help.”

The young woman’s resume is long and filled with accolades. For example, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in Central America by Forbes. She has also been recognized by MIT and Bloomberg. Currently, she is exploring how to apply AI to address mental health issues among migrant communities.

Agudelo, for her part, is an entrepreneur with a background in Business Administration, focused on health innovation. She is the founder and director of Salva Health, a startup that creates technological solutions to improve access to medical diagnosis, particularly in diseases with high incidence and costs. Her first product, launched in 2018, is Julieta, a portable device that, thanks to AI, conducts breast cancer screenings without radiation or advanced infrastructure to detect potentially harmful breast tissue.

“Julieta is kind of like my first child,” she explained after winning the award. “It has taught me the most, but now I dream of a complete ecosystem of solutions so that people who cannot access the healthcare system have the chance to detect their diseases early.” The young woman and her team are working on developing devices similar to Julieta, but to alert about the risk of osteoporosis, fatty liver, prostate cancer, or diabetes. “Diseases with very high incidence, and detecting them early can save your life,” she detailed.

Thousands of women in Colombia have used Julieta to access early diagnosis, and now the young woman wants to expand it internationally with European CE certification. Her vision, she explained, is clear: “To ensure that all women, regardless of where they live, have access to affordable and dignified medical diagnoses.”