Reflecting on the honour, Dame Sarah admitted that, while she found the creation “very strange” at first, she hoped that it would inspire children to consider careers “they may not be aware of,” like a vaccinologist.

“I am passionate about inspiring the next generation of girls into Stem careers and hope that children who see my Barbie will realise how vital careers in science are to help the world around us,” she explained.

The other women being honoured with their own doll are Dr Kirby White, a GP from Australia who developed a PPE gown that could be laundered and re-used; Dr Chika Stacy Oriuwa, a Canadian psychiatrist who has advocated against systemic racism in healthcare; Amy O’Sullivan, the nurse who treated the first Covid-19 patient in Brooklyn; Dr Jaqueline Goes de Jesus, a Brazilian biomedical researcher who led the genome sequencing of a Covid-19 variant in Brazil; and Dr Audrey Sue Cruz, a US frontline worker who joined forces with other Asian-American doctors to fight racial bias and discrimination.

The scientist who designed the AstraZeneca vaccine is getting her own Barbie doll