Do you dream of a successful research career? What if you could listen to the testimony, career, and research of two of the most prestigious Spanish scientists currently?

From the Rafael del Pino Club of Scientists we want to strengthen the Spanish scientific community. We also seek to promote the dissemination of the extraordinary research work carried out by the various groups of Spanish researchers, including the role of women scientists.

For this reason – and cocurrently with the celebration of the International Women’s Day – we have organized an online cafe with two of the leading researchers in Spain.

We hope this webinar serves to inspire and guide both young and established researchers. If you have a priori questions that you would like to be discuss in the session, please indicate them to us at registration.

In this talk we have the honor of listening to:

Prof. María Vallet Regí: she is the director of the Intelligent Biomaterials Research Group of the Complutense University of Madrid, where she received her bachelor’s and doctorate degrees. She was the pioneer in proposing and demonstrating the use of mesoporous silica materials pores for drug administration: an innovation that led to the launch of a profitable new field of research. Her first publication in this area made her join the Chem Mater 1K Club. Prof. María Vallet is one of the international leaders in the field of biomaterials and the first woman to receive the gold medal from the European Federation of Materials Science Societies (FEMS) and the George Winter Award from the European Society of Biomaterials. Her research focuses on the manufacture and study of bioceramic systems for the controlled release of biotechnological and antitumor substances, the use of nanoparticles and biocompatible matrices for biotechnological applications and the use of mesoporous materials for gene therapy and transfection and for the administration of drugs. Throughout her professional career, she has received multiple awards, has published more than 700 articles, 20 books, and is the author of 12 patents. In addition, she has been involved in various committees and has participated in more than 100 activities aimed at scientific dissemination in society.

Prof. Rosa Menéndez López: she is the president of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) since 2017. She was previously vice president of Scientific and Technical Research and has coordinated the CSIC in Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country. Prof. Rosa Menéndez graduated in Chemistry from the University of Oviedo, where she also obtained her doctorate. Afterwards, she did a postdoc at the University of Newcastle (UK), she returned to Spain as a tenured scientist at the CSIC and in 2000 she was appointed a researcher. Her scientific interests span clean coal and oil technologies as well as the use of graphene in biomedicine and energy storage. As principal investigator, she has led 23 scientific projects, published more than 200 articles, supervised 20 doctoral theses and 22 master’s theses. In addition, she is the author of 10 patents and has worked as scientific advisor and president of various associations, eg: she is currently vice president of “Science Europe” and was an advisor to the multinational SASOL. Throughout her professional career, she has been awarded various prizes and distinctions, notably the XIX duPont Prize and the Award for Scientific Career from the Spanish Association of Materials.