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The Banco Sabadell Foundation gave the 18th Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Biomedical Research to Manuel Valiente, Doctor of neuroscience and leader of the Brain Metastasis Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO). This recognition seeks to acknowledge young researchers with an outstanding track record in the fields of biomedicine and health sciences who stand out in their respective specialties for their ability to innovate.
The panel of judges for the Biomedical Research Award was chaired by Oscar Marín, director of the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders at King’s College in London. They highlighted the contributions made by Manuel Valiente to research into the mechanisms that generate brain metastasis, the identification of therapeutic targets, and their potential use in the selection of patients according to their response to the treatment. Throughout his career, Valiente has been able to combine his training in neuroscience with research into brain metastasis in order to uncover critical biological aspects of the way in which cancer spreads. Further knowledge about them could be used to create new therapeutical opportunities.
“This award has a lot of different meanings for me: firstly, it confirms that the initial risk of committing to a laboratory dedicated to brain metastasis, a terminal condition for which there have been zero expectations for years now, has paid off, as it is proving to be a field with many opportunities for improvement. Secondly, it is further proof to me that tenacity is crucial and that, along with motivation, it is an unbeatable antidote against the difficulties that we encounter during our scientific careers”, explained Valiente.
The Science and Engineering Award went to Juan Miguel Morales, Doctor of industrial engineering and head of the research group Optimisation and Analytics for Sustainable Energy Systems (OASYS) at the University of Malaga. Its panel of judges underlined his work towards the development of computational tools for the deployment of distributed renewable energy resources.
Josep Oliu, Chairman of Banco Sabadell, handed out the awards during a ceremony held at Banco Sabadell’s Corporate Headquarters in Sant Cugat del Vallès.
Manuel Valiente (Zaragoza, 1980) studied Veterinary Medicine in Zaragoza and studied the migration of neuronal precursors at the Instituto de Neurociencias in Alicante (2009). His postdoctoral work (2010-2014) in the laboratory of J. Massagué at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center centered on the ability of cancer cells to metastasize. Manuel joined the CNIO in 2015 and established the Brain Metastasis Group where he combines his interest and background on neuroscience with research on brain metastasis. The main goal of his group is to discover critical aspects of the biology of this progression of cancer that can be directed towards the development of new therapeutic opportunities.
Valiente is a Ramón y Cajal Investigator (2013) and the beneficiary of the IX FERO Fellowship (2015), ADEA Innovation Award (2015), Hope Funds for Cancer Research Postdoctoral Award (2010).