Award for young researchers at Biogen Idec Foundation author of two published studies in ‘ Nature ’ and ‘ Nature Immunology ’.
prizes, endowed with 18,000 euros, surrendered Thursday in a ceremony presided over by Carmen Vela, Secretary of State of RDI.
-Sacri RodrÃguez Ferrón, of the University of Valencia, and Irene Puga Panhead, of the Institute of medical research for the Hospital of the Sea (IMIM), received the awards in the categories of Neurology and Immunologyrespectively
– ceremony, held Thursday at the headquarters of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC), and attended the masterclass of Francisco Sánchez Madrid, of the Hospital de la Princesa of Madrid
-the Biogen Idec Foundation highlighted the high level of all the papers presented in this Edition
Madrid, March of 2013.-, two young Spanish researchers received from the Secretariat of State for research, development and innovation, Carmen Vela, the VII prize of the Biogen Idec Foundation to young Spanish researchers by their published papers in scientific journals Nature and Nature Immunology.
Sacri RodrÃguez Ferrón, of the Department of cell biology at the University of Valencia, and Irene Puga Panhead, of the Institute of medical research of the Hospital del Mar (IMIM), received recognition at a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientÃficas (CSIC).
Since 2005, the Biogen Idec Foundation convenes these awards, with 18,000 euros, in order to reward the best work of basic research developed by young Spanish scientists in the areas of Neurology and Immunology. The ceremony featured the masterclass of Francisco Sánchez Madrid, scientific director of the Institute research health Princess IIS-IP and Chief of service of Immunology of the Hospital La Princesa in Madrid.
One more year has demonstrated the high level of the work of Spanish young researchers and its undeniable contribution to the advancement of science in these areas ”, said Dr. Guido Decap, Vice President of Biogen Idec Iberia.
The Secretary of State of r & d emphasized the work of the Foundation Biogen and underlined the importance of sponsorship as a tool to support the research. In reference to the two award-winning young, Carmen Vela stated that the excellence of his work helps raise the level of science in Spain, as it also has to do the Spanish strategy of science and technology and innovation, recently approved ”.
Neurology award: genetics of the formation of new neurons
Sacri RodrÃguez Ferrón (Valencia, 1974) has been awarded in the category of Neurology for his study Postnatal loss of Dlk1 imprinting in stem cells and astrocytes regulates neurogenesis niche ”, published in Nature in July 2011 and performed at the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with the University of Valencia.
Their work showed that stem cells from the brain need a particular expression of the gene Dlk1 to be able to generate new neurons (neurogenesis) throughout the life of the individual. This work is an important step to understand how stem cells and could be used in therapies that repair damaged tissue.
from left to right: Emilio Lora-Tamayo, President of the CSIC; Sacramento Rodriguez Ferron, Biogen Idec Foundation Award in the area of Neurology; Carmen Vela, Secretary of State of r & d; Irene Puga, Biogen Idec Foundation Prize in the field of Immunology; Guido DeCap, Vice President of Biogen Idec Iberia; Beatriz Perales, Director of access to market of Biogen Idec; and Guillermo Sellers, Chief Medical Officer of Biogen Idec.
In the award-winning work, demonstrated that surprisingly is required of the expression of the two copies of the gene Dlk1 – a phenomenon called genetic imprinting – for a correct neurogenesis loss ”, explains the author. This loss of the detected imprint is a regulatory event which had not been before described in non-pathological conditions ”, as usually the loss of imprinting in other genes leads to hereditary diseases or, even, malignant transformation of some tumors.
Immunology Prize: neutrophils in the spleen in absence of infection
the work of Irene Puga Siesto (Barcelona, 1978) B cell helper neutrophils stimulate the diversification and production of immunoglobulin in the marginal zone of the spleen published in Nature Immunology in February 2012 found the existence of neutrophils (calls cleaning cells ” because they are the first that mobilizes the body when it detects a focus) infectious) in the spleen. The presence of this type of immune cell in spleen in the absence of infection, and since the fetal life, had not been documented up to then.
The find led them to check that these immune cells developed, at least in the spleen, a different to the attributed function traditionally. Through different studies showed that the function of neutrophils in the spleen was to help B lymphocytes to start the production of antibodies, a function that does not perform in other parts of the body ”, explains Puga. This work, which was carried out by researchers from the Mount Sinai of New York, has served to improve knowledge of the defense mechanisms of the body and help develop therapies more specific and effective against infections.
About the Foundation Biogen Idec
The Biogen Idec Foundation is a non-profit whose aims are the promotion of training, outreach, scientific research and development and health promotion, in the area of the Sciences of health in Spain, and in particularin the field of Immunology, neuro-Immunology, rheumatology, as well as the development of other activities that contribute to improving the living conditions of patients affected by diseases in such areas.
