UB professors Susana Jiménez-Murcia and Rosa M. Lamuela receive the 2024 Doctor of Alcalá award for research excellence

The award ceremony took place on Thursday 31 October at 12:00 noon in the Paranymh hall of the University of Alcalá. Among the attendees were the rector of the University, José Vicente Saz; the vice-rector for Research and Transfer, Javier de la Mata; the councillor for Education, University and Sports of Alcalá de Henares Town Council, Dolores López; the director of R&D&I at Cantabria Labs, Luis Nieto, and the medical scientific director of Cantabria Labs, María José Gómez. The event included the conference "Honrando la excelencia: mujeres pioneras y su impacto transformador en la ciencia", given by Sonia Pérez, professor of Applied Mathematics and Director of Training of Teaching and Research Staff at the UAH.

Susana Jiménez-Murcia, professor at the Department of Clinical Sciences of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and member of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), receives this year's Doctor of Alcalá Award for research excellence in the area of human and social sciences. An expert in clinical psychology, she is the coordinator of the Metro Sud Territorial Mental Health Plan, head of the Clinical Psychology Service at Bellvitge University Hospital, and director of the Behavioural Addictions Programme.

The award honours "her recognized research career of excellence in the field of clinical psychology, while highlighting the social projection of his research into different mental disorders, especially those related to behavioural addictions, such as pathological gambling, video game addiction, compulsive shopping, etc., as well as other disorders within the impulsivity-compulsivity construct (eating disorders and obesity)".

Jiménez-Murcia is also co-director of the research group in Psychoneurobiology of Eating Disorders and Behavioural Addictions of IDIBELL, as well as the research group of the Biomedical Research Centre Network on Pathophysiology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN) of the Carlos III Health Institute. Her scientific and health care career has been distinguished with the 2024 Sanitarias Award, in recognition of the goal of being one of the first heads of clinical psychology services throughout Spain, among other awards.

Rosa María Lamuela is a professor at the UB's Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and ICREA Academy, member of the Food Health Research Institute (INSA-UB) -María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence, located at the Torribera Campus- and of the Biomedical Research Network Centre for the Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN).

An expert in nutrition and food sciences, she has been distinguished with the 2024 Doctor of Alcalá Award for research excellence in the experimental sciences category, in recognition of "her excellent research career in the field of the study of bioactive compounds in nutrition and health applications. The innovative techniques developed have shed light on bioavailability, metabolism and their physiological effects, providing a better understanding of their impact on human health".

Rosa M. Lamuela is head of the Natural Antioxidants Research Group at the UB and has led several research lines and projects on the study of plant polyphenols (resveratrol, flavonoids, α-tocopherol, β-carotene, etc.) and their effects on health. She is one of the most cited researchers in the world according to recent editions of the Highly Cited Researchers, by Clarivate Analytics, and also stands out in the ranking of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) published in 2022 with the five thousand most outstanding female researchers in Spain. She also received the Dr. Carles Martí Henneberg Scientific Career Award 2018, granted by the Danone Institute in recognition of the contribution of the UB researcher in the field of food, nutrition and health throughout Spain.

In the category of young researcher in experimental sciences, the awardee is María Dolores Sánchez, from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Miriam Cubas, a researcher at the University of Alcalá, was recognized in the category of young researcher in human and social sciences.