Héctor Peinado,Héctor Peinado, head of the CNIO Microenvironment and Metastasis Group / Antonio Tabernero. CNIO.
The Cancer Research Foundation of the University of Salamanca (FICUS) – Centro de Investigación del Cáncer (CIC), together with the “Fundación Doctores Diz Pintado para la Docencia e Investigación en la Lucha contra el Cáncer”, have awarded the XII National Cancer Research Award “Doctores Diz Pintado” to CNIO researcher Héctor Peinado.
Héctor Peinado has been leading the CNIO Microenvironment and Metastasis Group since 2015. He previously worked as an Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine (New York). He is the author of relevant contributions to the understanding of metastasis. These results have been applied in the clinic through the use of extracellular vesicles in liquid biopsy and the development of new inhibitors of the early dissemination process.
Metastasis is responsible for more than 90% of cancer-related deaths. Determining the molecular mechanisms of metastasis is crucial for the development of new early detection techniques, and to identify new molecular targets. One of the key concepts is the cellular microenvironment, which plays an essential role in the selection of metastatic phenotypes.
The “Doctores Diz Pintado” National Cancer Research Award recognizes “the effort and scientific trajectory in the area of oncological research that has led to the generation, development or application of new biological and clinical knowledge about cancer,” as stated in its rules.
Héctor Peinado’s line of research addresses the factors secreted by the tumor in the formation of the pre-metastatic niche, and more specifically the role of extracellular vesicles (exosomes). His results, published in Nature Medicine in 2012, determined for the first time that exosomes secreted by tumor cells generate a favorable environment for metastasis in certain target organs (called pre-metastatic niches). His research has contributed to the understanding of the extrinsic impact of extracellular vesicles, which together with intrinsic mechanisms collaborate in early dissemination.
Peinado’s research also has clinical applications, because it allows the identification of various types of cancer by liquid biopsy. His work has also demonstrated that the combination of circulating DNA analysis together with extracellular vesicles can help to identify groups at risk of relapse in melanoma.
Héctor Peinado has authored 104 publications since 2003 with more than 26800 citations, SCOPUS h-index of 46 and cumulative impact factor of 1107. Since he created his laboratory he has been involved in 35 projects, 24 of them as principal investigator. He has recently been listed as within the top 2% of scientists with worldwide impact according to Stanford University (based on Scopus).
The XII National Cancer Research Award “Doctores Diz Pintado” will be presented on January 28, 2023 during the solemn academic ceremony organized by the University of Salamanca on the occasion of the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas.