2024/03/14

Jesús Jiménez-Barbero receives the Enrique Moles National Research Award

This award, granted by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, highlights the significant impact of Jesús Jiménez-Barbero's research in the fields of chemistry and structural biology.

Their Majesties, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, presided over the ceremony of the 2023 National Research Awards at the Palau Ducal de Gandia this Thursday, March 14th. These awards, conferred by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, celebrate the remarkable achievements of researchers in Spain, whose work enhances our collective knowledge and benefits society at large.

During the ceremony, awards were presented across various research domains, including Science and Chemical Technologies. Jesús Jiménez-Barbero, Scientific Director and Ikerbasque Research Professor at CIC bioGUNE – member of BRTA -, was honoured with the 'Enrique Moles' National Research Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions.

Jesús Jiménez Barbero's scientific career has been devoted to understand the mechanisms governing molecular recognition processes between carbohydrates and proteins. His interdisciplinary approach and pioneering use of innovative techniques, including chemical synthesis, protein biochemistry, and advanced structural biology techniques such as X-Ray crystallography and CryoEM, with a special emphasis on NMR spectroscopy. This technique has facilitated in-depth studies of complex glycan interactions, with promising implications for novel clinical interventions targeting various pathologies.

Noteworthy contributions include systematic studies on glycan-lectin interactions, significantly advancing our understanding of glycan-mediated interactions in health and disease, documented in over 600 scientific publications and 300 invited and plenary lectures. Dr. Jiménez-Barbero has supervised several dozens of PhDs and postdocs, led multiple EU-funded and industry collaborations, and received the ERC AdG for his project RECGLYCANMR (2018-2024), which employs paramagnetic metals and NMR probes (19F, 13C) to scrutinize molecular recognition events in vitro and in-cell.

These studies have been recognized with the correspondent National Prize of Research in Chemical Sciences & Technology in 2023, the International Whistler Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry in 2010, and the Gold Medal of RSEQ in 2018, among many others.

Pictures from: © Casa de S.M. el Rey
His Majesty the King presents the National Prize for Research Enrique Moles in the field of Chemical Science and Technology to Jesús Jiménez Barbero
Ducal Palace of the Borja Family. Gandía (Valencia), 14.03.2024

About CIC bioGUNE

The Centre for Cooperative Research in Biosciences (CIC bioGUNE), member of the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA), located in the Bizkaia Technology Park, is a biomedical research organisation conducting cutting-edge research at the interface between chemical, structural, molecular, and cell biology, with a particular focus on generating knowledge on the molecular bases of disease, for use in the development of new diagnostic and prognostic methods and advanced therapies.

About Ikerbasque

Ikerbasque - Basque Foundation for Science - is the result of an initiative by the Department of Education of the Basque Government to reinforce the commitment to scientific research by attracting, recovering, and consolidating excellent researchers from around the world. Currently, it is a consolidated organization with 290 researchers working in various fields of knowledge.

About BRTA

BRTA is an alliance of 4 collaborative research centres (CIC bioGUNE, CIC nanoGUNE, CIC biomaGUNE y CIC energiGUNE) and 12 technology centres (Azterlan, Azti, Ceit, Cidetec, Gaiker, Ideko, Ikerlan, Lortek, Neiker, Tecnalia, Tekniker and Vicomtech) with the main objective of developing advanced technological solutions for the Basque corporate fabric.

With the support of the Basque Government, the SPRI Group and the Provincial Councils of the three territories, the alliance seeks to promote collaboration between the research centres, strengthen the conditions to generate and transfer knowledge to companies, contributing to their competitiveness and outspreading the Basque scientific-technological capacity abroad.

BRTA has a workforce of 3,500 professionals, executes 22% of the Basque Country's R&D investment, registers an annual turnover of more than 300 million euros and generates 100 European and international patents per year.

Spanish version