The National Research Awards recognize for the first time the work of young researchers

The Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, visits a laboratory in La Rioja.Raquel Manzanares (EFE)

The Ministry of Science and Innovation has made public the scientists recognized with the National Research Award, which has distinguished for the first time the work of junior researchers, under 40 years of age, in the earliest stages of their careers.

In total, 10 senior and 10 young researchers, in their respective work disciplines.

The most important prize in Spain created in 1982, endowed with 30,000 euros in each category, coincides this week with the recognition in Stockholm of the Nobel prizes.

Among the winners, renowned figures from Spanish science stand out, such as the biochemist Mariano Barbacid, a specialist in cancer research;

Ana Martínez Gil, researcher in neurodegenerative diseases;

or the philosopher Daniel Innerarity, who now works in the area of ​​artificial intelligence.

Among the award-winning young researchers, disciplines as disparate as new materials or the study of boredom are addressed.

The jury for the young people's award was made up of a total of 31 women and 29 men (each type of jury was also equal), and analyzed 185 candidates, of which 61% were men and 39% were women, with a mean age of 38 years.

The Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, highlights the value of scientists by rewarding the "exceptional" careers of researchers who are dedicated to "generating knowledge and transferring it to applications in society."

The winners by category:

Youths

• Biology area, Margarita Salas award:

  Arkaitz Carracedo (Ikerbasque researcher and professor at the University of the Basque Country), researches cancer at the CIC bioGUNE centre.

  Awarded for successfully addressing cancer cell signaling and metabolism.

Arkaitz Carracedo, scientist at the University of the Basque Country, awarded the Margarita Salas for his research against cancer.bernardo pérez

• Engineering and architecture area, Matilde Urcelay award:

  Belén Riveiro Rodríguez (professor at the University of Vigo), industrial engineer of the Applied Geotechnology Research Group.

  Awarded for improving the resilience of transport infrastructure and extreme events to solve current challenges in structural engineering.

• Humanities area, María Moliner award:

  Josefa Ros Velasco (researcher at the Complutense University of Madrid), director of a European Horizon 2020 project.

  Recognized for her contribution to the study of boredom, with the aim of improving the lives of older people institutionalized in nursing homes, attending to their needs.

• Medicine and health sciences area, Gabriela Morreale award:

  María Victoria Llorens-Martín (scientist of the Higher Council for Scientific Research), principal investigator at the Center for Biomedical Research in Network. Awarded for her contribution to neurobiology, by becoming a reference his study of the regenerative capacity of the human brain.

• Science and technology area of ​​natural resources, Ángeles Alvariño award:

  Manuel Delgado Baquerizo (CSIC Natural Resources researcher), leader of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning group.

  Awarded for his study of the biome as a key element for health, in addition to the study of natural, agricultural and urban ecosystems in a global context.

• Physical, materials and earth sciences area, Felisa Martín Bravo award:

  Andrés Castellanos Gómez (scientific researcher at the Materials Science Institute of Madrid), has been recognized for his contribution to the study of two-dimensional materials, as well as the application of these materials in nanomechanical and optoelectronic devices.

• Chemical science and technology area, Maria Teresa Toral award:

  Guillermo Mínguez Espallarga (professor at the University of Valencia), director of the Crystal Engineering Lab group of the Institute of Molecular Science.

  Awarded for the development of new materials with novel properties and functionalities, in addition to the synthesis of new materials analogous to graphene.

María Victoria Llorens-Martín of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)CSIC

• Technology transfer area, Ángela Ruiz Robles award:

  Marc Güell Cargol (professor at Pompeu Fabra University), principal investigator of the Translational Synthetic Biology group.

  Awarded for taking advantage of applied synthetic biology to generate new designs of biological systems, research in gene therapy and in the engineering of the skin microbiome.

• Mathematics and information and communication technology area, María Andresa Casamayor award:

  Carlos Gómez Rodríguez (professor at the University of Coruña), researcher focused on language processing and awarded for the development of algorithms that incorporate natural language into digital environments characteristic of artificial intelligence.

• Law and economic and social sciences area, Clara Campoamor award:

  Diana López-Barroso (Ramón y Cajal researcher in the Psychobiology area of ​​the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Malaga), is part of the Cognitive Neurology and Aphasia Unit.

  She awarded for addressing the problem of differences in complex cognitive functions.

Senior

The senior category of the National Research Awards in this edition has admitted 83 nominations, of which 78% were men and 22% women.

The average age of the winners is 62 years.

The philosopher Daniel Innerarity poses near the Congress in Madrid. Andrea Comas

• Biology area, Santiago Ramón y Cajal award:

  Mariano Barbacid Montalbán (professor and head of the Experimental Oncology group at the National Cancer Research Center) has been recognized for his pioneering and internationally recognized contributions in the field of molecular oncology, where he has achieved world leadership positions, in addition to contributing to the development of cancer research in Spain and the training of a new generation of researchers.

• Engineering and architecture area, Leonardo Torres Quevedo award:

  Íñigo Javier Losada Rodríguez (Professor of Hydraulic Engineering at the University of Cantabria), Director of Research at the Institute of Environmental Hydraulics and the 'Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin'.

  Awarded for his leadership in ocean engineering and pioneering contributions to the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources.

• Humanities area, Ramón Menéndez Pidal award:

  Daniel Innerarity Grau (Ikerbasque researcher at the University of the Basque Country and Holder of the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Chair at the European Institute of Florence), awarded for his contribution to the adaptation of the normative principles of the democracy to current societies, especially relevant to human coexistence, through his theory of complex democracy.

• Medicine and health sciences area, Gregorio Marañón award:

  Miguel Ángel Martínez-González (Professor of Public Health at the University of Navarra and Assistant Professor of Nutrition at Harvard University), recognized for his contribution to the relevance of nutrition in medicine prevention and as well as behavioral intervention to change lifestyles.

• Natural Resources Science and Technology Area, Alejandro Malaspina Award:

  Fernando Tomás Maestre Gil (researcher at the University of Alicante), directs the Arid Zones and Global Change Laboratory.

  Awarded for the study of biodiversity and ecology of arid zones, the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems and desertification.

• Physical, materials and earth sciences area, Blas Cabrera award:

  José Cernicharo Quintanilla (research at the Institute of Fundamental Physics of the CSIC), recognized for being a world pioneer in molecular astrophysics, and for his multidisciplinary contributions of great impact in the fields of physical, chemical and materials sciences.

• Chemical science and technology area, Enrique Moles award:

  Antonio María Echavarren Pablos (scientist from the Severo Ochoa program of the Institut Català d'Investigació Química, research professor at the CSIC and president of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry), awarded for his contributions to the synthetic organic chemistry that has had a major impact on the field of catalysis.

• Technology transfer area, Juan de la Cierva award:

  Ana Martínez Gil (Research professor at the Margarita Sala Biological Research Center), awarded for the design and development of drugs for neurodegenerative and infectious diseases, highlighting her significant contributions to technology transfer of knowledge, both in society as a whole and in the business world.

• Area of ​​Mathematics and Information and Communication Technologies, Julio Rey Pastor Award:

  Antonio Ros Mulero (Professor at the Department of Geometry and Topology at the University of Granada), recognized for his scientific career in the area of ​​geometric analysis.

• Area of ​​Law and Economic and Social Sciences, Pascual Madoz Award:

  Luis Moreno Fernández (Research Professor at the CSIC Institute of Public Policies and Goods), awarded for the relevance of his contributions in the areas of Social Policy and Welfare State, Power and territory, and their impact in the form of knowledge generated.

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