Eva Nogales, a leading expert on molecular biophysics, is currently in the CNIO as part of the Fundación Jesús Serra Visiting Researchers programme

"The researcher is one of the world's leading scientists in the field of molecular biophysics has shown incredible instinct in choosing biological systems that are important for biology and human health, and raising and answering critical questions to reveal biological principles fundamental for our understanding of molecular processes in the human cell. "

The Fundación Jesús Serra, of Grupo Catalana Occidente, and the National Centre for Cancer Research (CNIO) have held the official presentation of the researcher Eva Nogales, as beneficiary of the latest edition of the Fundación Jesús Serra Visiting Researchers programme. Eva, a Madrid-born biophysicist, has worked for many years at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. She is a member of the faculty of the Division of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology, the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology the University of California in Berkeley and researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The aim of the Fundación Jesús Serra programme is to finance the stay of a researcher in Spain who has been working at a prestigious international centre for the last five years. Thus, once a year, the CNIO receives a highly renowned guest professor, who spends several months at the centre. These visits allow the host research group to consolidate its ties with the group of the centre to which the visiting researcher belongs, as well as to start new work lines thanks to the exchange of common ideas and interests. The collaboration between Fundación Jesús Serra and the CNIO in the framework of this initiative dates back to 2009.

Professor Eva Nogales has exceeded the expectations of cryo-electron microscopy and constantly amazes the scientific community with structures that were considered unattainable, with studies on tubulin, microtubules, human transcriptional initiation, human telomerase and polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), to name a few.

In recognition of her pioneering studies, Nogales was elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as an External Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. 

For the President of Fundación Jesús Serra, Federico Halpern, this collaboration reflects the firm commitment of the company to scientific research. "Thanks to the collaboration between Spanish reference organisations such as the CNIO and other renowned international centres, we have managed to create synergies that allow international research to be promoted in such outstanding fields as the fight against cancer," he said.

For her part, the Director of the CNIO, Maria A. Blasco, said that "the Visiting Researchers Programme of the Fundación Jesús Serra is very important for strengthening synergies between researchers and research centres around the world." "Having the opportunity to exchange ideas with researchers, particularly of the international stature of Eva Nogales enriches and boosts the research on cancer in our centre," she concluded.

13 years of successful collaboration between the CNIO and Fundación Jesús Serra

Since 2009, the scientific relationship between research groups of the host CNIO and the international centres of origin of the visiting researchers of Fundación Jesús Serra has been deepened. Thanks to this collaboration, it has been possible to promote new lines of action based on new scientific interests. 

Over the years, many outstanding researchers have benefited from this sabbatical stay at the CNIO. The first visit by epidemiologist David Goldgar was followed by visits from Rama Khokha, Mercedes Rincón, Astrid Laegreid, Maria Sibilia, Robert Benezra, Peter Petzelbauer, André Nussenzweig, Stephan A. Hahn, Patrick Sung, Chaitanya R. Divgi, Marcin Nowotny, Madalena Tarsounas, Dr. Raul Rabadan, Wolfgang Weninger, Dr. Scott Lowe, Dr. Sonia Laín, until the arrival of Dr. Eva Nogales with her second stay as a visiting researcher.

About CNIO

The CNIO is a public Spanish institution engaged in cancer research, diagnosis and treatment. Ranked among the top 10 monographic cancer research centres in the world (Scimago report; Nature Index), the CNIO covers the whole R&D+i scope, from basic to clinical research, in order to quickly and effectively transmit the results to the National Health System and pharmaceutical and biotechnological markets.

The CNIO has an Experimental Therapy Programme that includes the initial development phases of therapeutically-targeted drugs on which its scientists are working. Some of the CNIO molecules have been licenced to international pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, the CNIO has a significant stake in open innovation programmes of international pharmaceutical companies, which has led to the CNIO securing more than €25 million in the last 6 years. It has also spawned 3 spin-off companies, whose developments have also reached and benefited the Centre's patients. Such data clearly shows the Institution's commitment to innovation and technological dissemination and illustrates the importance of public-private collaboration in making important contributions to the disease's diagnosis and treatment.

Another fundamental pillar for the CNIO is to bring science closer to society through initiatives such as CNIO Arte, a project that brings scientists and artists together to create new artwork around scientific research, or CNIO Friends, a philanthropic platform through the that any person, company or association can collaborate with the cancer research carried out by the Centre, and thanks to which a competitive International Contracts Programme has been promoted "CNIO Friends" to attract research talent.