- The scientist has been awarded in the category of "Young Researcher Award - Group Leader"
- The organization has highlighted the very high level of this year's nominations
The principal investigator of Centro Singular en Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS) of University of Santiago de Compostela, Beatriz Pelaz, has just been awarded the prize of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry in "Young Researcher" category. "I thank the RSEQ for this recognition and congratulate all of the awardees. I would love to share this award with my mentors and the current and past members of the BioNanoTools group", declares the newly awarded.
Promoted by the veteran scientific society dedicated to the dissemination and development of chemistry, the different awards are classified into five categories of prizes, a recognition and a medal. In this case, Pelaz has been recognized with the mention "Young Researcher" and in the modality of "Group Leader". The organization, which has highlighted the very high level of the nominations for this year 2022, will present the awards at an event whose date is yet to be determined.
Young and successful career
Beatriz Pelaz has a degree in Chemistry from the University of Valladolid (2005) and in Biochemistry from the University of Zaragoza (2011). In March 2012, she obtained her PhD with European mention from the University of Zaragoza. From June 2012 to the end of 2016, Pelaz was a member of Professor Wolfgang J. Parak's group at Philipps-Universität Marburg in Germany, first as a postdoctoral researcher and subsequently as a Humboldt program researcher. Since January 2017, she co-leads the BionanoTools group at the CiQUS of the USC, first as principal investigator of a project for young researchers (JIN, MINECO), and since 2019 as a Ramón y Cajal researcher. Her research focuses on the development of remotely controllable smart materials and the study of their interaction with biological entities.
Pelaz leads the Spacing project funded with €1.5M by the selective Starting Grant program of the European Research Council (ERC), in which they develop a new DNA-based technology that allows the modification of the surface of nanomaterials, particularly nanoparticles.
In 2020 she was also selected to participate in the European SWIMMOT project, leading the Spanish team from BioNanoTools at CiQUS, which worked together with Austria and France in a partnership whose goal is the early detection and treatment of diseases through contrast bioimaging.
In addition, she participates in the REAP project joining efforts with five other European countries to develop a system to identify cells that generate resistance to cancer treatment. In particular, BioNanoTools at CiQUS is in charge of the preparation of contrast agents capable of detecting these persistent cells.
The search for new intelligent materials for biomedical purposes at CiQUS
The award-winning Beatriz Pelaz, together with the also principal investigator Pablo del Pino, lead Bionanotools, a research group at the CiQUS of the USC. It is a team of materials scientists with complementary expertise in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine; and in which the main research interests focus on "smart" nanostructured materials for applications in medicine and biology.
CiQUS, a platform for talent
Beatriz Pelaz has not been the only CiQUS recipient of the RSEQ "Young Researcher" award. Since 2015 several are the principal investigators who also obtained this award. In total there are four researchers awarded: Moisés Gulías, Martín Fañanás, Javier Montenegro and now, Beatriz Pelaz.