Another two young researchers of CiQUS were previously awarded in 2012 and 2013.
The CiQUS doctoral student Mateo Sánchez López has been awarded by the European Committee for Academic Relations (EUACC) of Lilly Spain with one of the three Lilly Research Awards for Doctoral Students in 2014. Mateo Sánchez López is developing his PhD under the supervision of professors José Luis Mascareñas and Eugenio Vázquez, in the area of chemical biology, specifically on the development of molecules able to recognize nucleic acids, especially DNA, selectively. The availability of smart molecules capable of affecting processes, such as the expression of specific genes, in a predictable and programmable manner, might lead to a better understanding of molecular details of this process as well as provide the basis for the discovery of novel medicines.
The award ceremony took place on Friday, September 26, at the Center for Basic Research in Madrid Spain Lilly. New this year, Lilly, through the European Committee for Academic Relations (EUACC), appointed an External Scientific Committee to select the three winners, from whose works they emphasized the "high quality in each of its areas, with very innovative approaches on the development of new drugs". The ceremony included a scientific session with a plenary lecture by Prof. John F. Hartwig, University of California at Berkeley, and three invited talks in which the winners had the opportunity to present their work.
Lilly Research Awards recognize the quality and trajectory of young Spanish researchers in the areas of Chemistry, Pharmaceutical and Analytical. Notably Mateo Sanchez becomes the third CiQUS predoctoral researcher to receive this prestigious award, after Lorena Tizón (2012) and Isaac Alonso (2013). In addition, the CiQUS out for other awards to young investigators, as the SUSCHEM Awards for Chemistry Young Investigators 2013 and the European Young Chemist Award in 2012.
