José Luis García has received the Margarita Salas 2024 Research Award from the Autonomous Community of Madrid

Prof. José Luis García, a researcher at the Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research (CSIC), has received the Margarita Salas 2024 Research Award granted by the Autonomous Community of Madrid (CAM) in recognition of his research and transfer career, which has contributed to position Spanish Biotechnology as an international reference. The awards were presented by Emilio Viciana Duro, Regional Minister of Education, Science and Universities, in a ceremony held on January 21, 2025, at the community headquarters in Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

José Luis García was awarded the Margarita Salas Prize in the first category for his contribution to developing biotechnological applications of genetic and metabolic engineering and synthetic and systems biology to solve environmental problems.

At the same ceremony, the Miguel Catalán Prize was awarded to Francisco José García-Vidal, professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, for his high-impact contributions in the field of nanophotonics, plasmonics, and metamaterials, which distinguish him as one of the most influential physicists of the last decade. Antonio Cabrales, Professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid, was awarded the Julián Marías Prize for his pioneering work in behavioral and experimental economics.

In the under-40 category, the Miguel Catalán Award went to Dr. Marta Martínez, of the Food Science Research Institute, for her extensive experience in biopolymer production and characterization and the valorization of biomass for innovative packaging and food ingredients. The Julián Marías Award went to Ana Llorens, a researcher at the UCM, for her use of novel computational techniques applied to recordings to expand the theoretical conception of musical structure. Finally, Jerónimo Rodríguez-Beltrán, from the Ramón y Cajal Institute for Health Research, received the Margarita Salas Award for his dedication to the study of antibiotic resistance.

With these research awards, the Community of Madrid annually recognizes the professional careers of researchers in the region. Thus, in the category of scientific career, the achievements, training in the field of knowledge, and national and international repercussions of the award winner during all his years of work are distinguished, while the category for those under 40 years of age highlights the quality and excellence of the work carried out up to that age.

The complete ceremony can be followed at this link.

More information:

CAM Press Release: link.