Banco de Sabadell : Rubén Martín wins the II Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Science and Engineering, and Daniel López Serrano wins the XIII Award for Biomedical Research

• Dr Lopez Serrano, PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Murcia, has won the award for his innovative contribution in the field of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, a topic which is immensely relevant in terms of biomedicine and sanitation on a global scale. Prof. Rubén Martín has won the award for his innovative and creative vision of chemical catalysis and the needs and requirements of society in a context of sustainable development.
• Both awards consist of 50,000 euros prize money each, and the objective of these awards is to recognise the work carried out by young researchers. The awards ceremony will take place on July 18.

The panel of judges of the II Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Science and Engineering have recognised Prof. Rubén Martín for his innovative and creative vision of chemical catalysis and his responses to the needs and requirements of society in a context of sustainable development. The panel of judges of the XIII Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Biomedical Research has recognised Dr Daniel López Serrano as the 2018 award winner for his innovative contribution in the field of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, a topic which is immensely relevant in terms of biomedicine and health on a global scale. Both awards consist of 50,000 euros prize money each, and the objective of these awards is to recognise the work carried out by young researchers in the field of biomedicine and health sciences, as well as science and engineering.

According to Dr Lopez Serrano: '35% of hospitalised patients become infected by bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics, and 20% of these patients die from the infection. In fact, in Spain, these types of infections represent 35,000 deaths a year, 30 times more than traffic accidents'. Therefore, in his laboratory he studies the pathogenic bacteria staphylococcus aureus which is multi resistant, also known as MRSA, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, colonising hospitals all over the world and causing infections which are very difficult to treat in patients who are hospitalised for this reason.

One of the most notable lines of research of Prof. Rubén Martin is based on designing 'magic wands' which are able to prepare fatty acids through setting contaminating gasses such as carbon dioxide (CO2) in saturated hydrocarbons deriving from petrol. These 'magic wands' are catalysts which allow infinite reactions to be carried out, without these being consumed in the process or generating residues. This research is very relevant, given that fatty acids are vital in the chemical, textile, cosmetics and agro-food sector, with a market value that will reach 20,000 million dollars in 2023. The awards ceremony includes the collaboration of BIST, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, which is led by Prof Andreu Mas-Colell (also the chair of the award). BIST is a global benchmark institution in the world of science.

More information about Dr Daniel López Serrano, XIII Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Biomedical Research

Daniel López Serrano (Murcia 1977) holds a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Murcia.Since 2014 he has led his own laboratory as a senior scientist at CSIC at the National Centre for Biotechnology. His line of research is focused on the field of bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

He has discovered a new pharmacological intervention to resolve this important problem: the existence of lipid rafts in bacterial membranes and the importance of the evolution of bacterial populations in biofilms which they form on biological surfaces. His results will contribute, in general, to reducing risk in infectious processes in clinical conditions, and particularly in surgical procedures.

More information about the professor. II Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Science and Engineering

Holder of a degree and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona, after five years of carrying out post-doctoral stays in the field oforganometallic catalysis. In 2018 he began his career at the Catalan Institute of Chemical Research (ICIQ, Tarragona). In 2013 he was promoted to associate professor, and then to research professor ICREA. He currently leads a research group of 17 PhD students and post-doctoral researchers at ICIQ Tarragona.

Awards ceremony to be held on 18 July at the Banco Sabadell corporate centre in Sant Cugat del Vallés.

The awards ceremony will be held on Wednesday 18 July at the corporate centre of Banco Sabadell in Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona) and will bring together notable representatives of the scientific community. The ceremony shall be assisted by winners of previous editions, members of the panel of judges, institutional representatives, members of the medical community, research centres, universities located throughout Spain, and researchers interested in research projects and science, as well as members of the press.

More information about Banco Sabadell Foundation

Banco Sabadell Foundation was established as a private foundation in 1994 with the objective of stimulating excellence and promoting cultural knowledge. Its objective is to promote disclosure, training and research in the areas of education, science and culture, as well as training talented young persons and offering them support.

More information about BIST (Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology)

It is a scientific initiative composed of six excellent research centres in Catalonia, whose objective is to increase their collaboration to create a common project. Its strength is based on the research capacity of its members and on its potential to promote cutting edge projects in multidisciplinary research. BIST is composed of the Centre for Genomic Regulation, the Institute of Photonic Sciences, the Institute of Chemical Investigation of Catalonia (ICIQ) and the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology