AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Dr. Borja Ibáñez, awarded the Cruz Azul Zendal-Balmis medal for his contribution during the fight against the pandemic
Dr. Borja Ibáñez, CNIC’s Scientific Director and Fundación Jiménez Díaz interventional cardiologist, received a Zendal-Balmis Cruz Azul gold medal at the organisation’s awards ceremony, which acknowledges people and institutions who have made a contribution in the fight against health crises at the start of the 21st century. The medal was awarded in recognition of his praiseworthy work, sacrifice, commitment and dedication during the pandemic.
The award highlights his research work from the outset of the health crisis caused by coronavirus and his discovery of the therapeutic use of metoprolol in cases of severe COVID-19.
José Antonio Enríquez and Andrés Hidalgo, winners of the Constantes y Vitales prize for best biomedical publication of the year
José Antonio Enríquez and Andrés Hidalgo, winners of the Constantes y Vitales prize for best biomedical publication of the year
José Antonio Enríquez and Andrés Hidalgo have been awarded the Constantes y Vitales prize for best biomedical publication of the year for “A Network of Macrophages Supports Mitochondrial Homeostasis in the Heart.”
The study “A Network of Microphages Supports Mitochondrial Homeostasis in the Heart” published in Cell, was the result of a collaboration between two CNIC groups under the direction of Dr. Andrés Hidalgo and Dr. José Antonio Enríquez. The article, which presents the conclusions of more than five years of research and collaborations with European, Asian and US laboratories, shows that macrophages, a type of immune system cell, help heart cells eliminate their waste material, thus maintaining the metabolic and contractile capacity of the heart.
The data that this discovery contributes suggest that cardiac dysfunction may, in some cases, stem from defects in these resident immune system cells instead of cardiomyocytes, a concept with major consequences for the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
Dr. Alegre-Cebollada awarded the IUPAB Michèle Auger prize
Dr. Jorge Alegre-Cebollada received the Michèle Auger prize awarded by the International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) through its scientific journal Biophysical Reviews. This award recognises the work of young scientists who carry out research in the field of biophysics and who, at the time of proposal, are under the age of 40.
The prize was created in 2019 to honour the memory of university professor Michèle Auger, a dearly loved and respected member of the Biophysical Reviews editorial panel, who died in 2018.
The research of Dr. Alegre-Cebollada, who directs the CNIC Molecular Mechanics of the Cardiovascular System Laboratory, is related with understanding the nanomechanical principles that govern the structure, function and regulation of proteins.
Conference: BRAIN AND HEART Dr. Valentín Fuster, Director General of CNIC - Science Week, 2021
The CNIC again participated in Science and Innovation Week, held in the first fortnight of November, which in the Community of Madrid is led by the foundation “Fundación para el Conocimiento Madri+d”. The goal is to bring science closer to society, foster knowledge and interest, and involve the general public in its activities. This year, science week’s slogan is ‘Science for the great challenges facing humankind’.
With the title “Heart and Brain”, our Director General, Dr. Valentín Fuster, participated in an online conference.
Dr. Pura Muñoz-Cánoves receives the Santiago Ramón y Cajal National Prize
The Ministry of Science and Innovation awarded the Santiago Ramón y Cajal National Prize for research in the field of Biology to Dr. Pura Muñoz-Cánoves, professor in Cellular Biology at the department of Experimental and Health Sciences of the UPF (DCEXS), research professor at the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and group leader at CNIC (the Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research) and CIBERNED (the Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Centre Network) for her scientific contributions in the field of tissue regeneration.
Dr. Pura Muñoz joins two other CNIC researchers to have won this same award, Dr. Francisco Sánchez Madrid in 2020, and Dr. Valentín Fuster, in 2019.
CNIC researcher, Jesús Victorino Santos, wins the final of FameLab scientific presentations
After winning the national finals, presided over by Queen Letizia, the CNIC researcher Jesús Victorino Santos went on to represent Spain in the international finals of the FameLab presentations.
Famelab is a prize for scientific presentations which aims is to present reliable scientific knowledge to the general public in an entertaining way.
New breastfeeding room
The CNIC’s new breastfeeding room was inaugurated in 2020, days before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, and is now open for use by workers of CNIC and collaborating organisations.
The CNIC’s breastfeeding room was sponsored by Philips, who have provided equipment.
CNIC at the Noche Europea de la Investigación research fair promoted by the “la Caixa” Foundation
CNIC researchers participated in the CaixaForum Madrid research fair, an event that uses live demonstrations and activities to showcase the scientific research carried out at different research centres and universities, among which the CNIC is the most participative organisation, represented by experiments carried out by its researchers.
