- The singular centre of Santiago de Compostela University (USC), first of the Galician University System (SUG) in number of European Research Council (ERC) projects, the most prestigious entity in the international context, celebrates a decade of life committed to high quality training, attracting talent and self-demand
- Its rapid rise and achievement of objectives and its current consolidation make it a reference centre
- The results of CiQUS are wide-ranging projects such as artificial enzymes with potential biomedical applications; development of vaccines against COVID-19; or advances in new functional materials and development of new methodologies
- David MacMillan, Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry 2021, will be plenary speaker at the 1st Chemistry at the Frontier Symposium, on his first visit to Europe after his nomination
The USC's Singular Research Centre for Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) is celebrating its 10th anniversary and it has positioned at the forefront of science in the international level. To commemorate its 10th Anniversary, it will hold the 1st Symposium Chemistry on the Frontier on 30th, 31th March and 1st April, and the symposium will have as guests renowned world leaders from several areas of chemistry, including the 2021 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, David MacMillan, who travels to Europe for the first time, hand in hand with CiQUS, since he was awarded the Nobel Prize.
The data
The scientific director of the Centre, José Luis Mascareñas, has summarised today at a press conference the main indicators of CiQUS throughout its first decade, highlighting "its fast growth and compliance with the highest global quality standards in training, talent recruitment and competitiveness, by obtaining 11 ERC projects, led by seven researchers from CiQUS and funded by the most prestigious entity in the international context, the European Research Council", stressed José Luis Mascareñas. Scientific production has also been a strategic objective with an average of more than 100 articles per year in high-impact journals such as Science or Nature; or technology transfer which is the "key to bringing the results of fundamental research to society", in words of the director.
The CiQUS director has accompanied at the presentation by Deputy Director General for University Scientific and Technological Promotion of Xunta de Galicia, María Jesús Tallón Nieto and by the Rector of the USC, Antonio López, who has been "pleased to celebrate 10 years of the first singular centre of our University, the seed of the current Campus of International Excellence Campus Vida and gateway to the other two centres of the network at the time Network (CiMUS and CiTIUS). Undoubtedly, an attribute of the good work of the USC and places it on the world map of the excellence research. The good health of the CiQUS, which has the largest number of ERC researchers in the Galician University System (SUG), and the good medium-term perspectives, reaffirm the centre's position as a reference in its field of expertise” said López.
For her part, the representative of Xunta de Galicia celebrated the trajectory of CiQUS, "which in 10 years has established itself as a reference centre, with a remarkable success in all types of calls and endorsed by the scientific community", which reflects that "it is a talent niche, a centre that is able to attract researchers with the highest level of quality and qualification". He also highlighted the support of Xunta de Galicia for research centres, with an economic injection of €30M in the last six years.
Economic impact and social progress
The research of the Centre is organised into three thematic areas: Biological and Medicinal Chemistry; Functional Materials with Technological Applications; and Synthetic Technologies for Sustainable Development. These areas interact with each other in order to approach scientific challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective. This fact enriches collaborative work and favours synergies between groups and projects.
"Doing cutting-edge science that impacts society is an inseparable part of our mission. And the important economic impact thanks to the attraction of top-level European projects (around 14 million euros through the ERCs), the technology transfer we have achieved in this decade, with numerous patents applied for (24), five of them already licensed for commercial exploitation; and the creation of four spin-offs (Matprint, MD.Use, Sigillum Knowledge Solutions y Celtarys Research), and R&D contracts with eight industries, are signs of our direct incursion into integral economic and social progress," Mascareñas recalled.
The international collaboration projects obtained during this decade also stand out. "A total of 14, involving more than 4 million euros, with more than 20 countries around the world, are the numbers that encourage us to continue on this way," says the scientific director of the USC Centre.
The translation of scientific work into society is also reflected in concrete advances in areas such as biomedicine (development of therapies against COVID-19 or discovery of artificial enzymes), new functional materials (development of new batteries, thermal and electronic devices...) or sustainable development (sustainable transformation of raw materials).
Innovation model and talent catalyst
The goal of CiQUS is to develop science at the frontier of knowledge and to provide high-level training to scientists and professionals in chemistry and biomedicine. For this purpose, it has an innovative organisational and management structure and a multidisciplinary team, which currently composed of 190 researchers in 18 groups.
“The growing international prestige that our Centre has acquired has turned it into a pole of attraction for talent from all over the world. In fact, 25% of the research staff, today group leaders, joined the CiQUS through recruitment young talent programmes, without having any previous relationship with Galicia or USC", an unquestionable fact that confirms the excellence that the CiQUS represents, both in training and in technical and human resources", explained the scientific director. In this context, they have training programmes such as the CHEM Bio&Mat Master, a pioneering qualification in Spain aimed at young people from all over the world who wish to enter the frontier between chemistry, biology and nanomaterials, are of particular significance.
In addition, the operating model of CiQUS includes a continuous and demanding evaluation by an external commission of the highest reputation that includes, among others, the Nobel Prize laureate Jean-Pierre Sauvage, and that encourages us to keep working under the highest standards", concluded Mascareñas.
The Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry 2021 at the 1st Symposium, an outstanding event for the scientific community
In order to commemorate the 10th anniversary, CiQUS will celebrate the 1st Symposium "Chemistry at the Frontier", a scientific meeting that will gather leading scientists from different countries.
One of the highlights will be the presence of the 2021 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, David MacMillan, from Princeton University (USA) in his first visit to Europe since the awarding of the Prize and who will also participate in the USC's scientific dissemination programme "ConCiencia". MacMillan is a British-American chemist who was laureated with the 2021 Nobel Prize, together with Benjamin List, for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis, a tool that has had a great impact on the production of drugs and other molecular materials.
For three days, Santiago de Compostela will become an international scientific spot thanks to the symposium that will take place on 30th and 31th March and 1st April. Accompanying the Nobel Prize laureate, leading global scientific personalities, such as Helma Wennemers from University of Zurich and Harry Anderson from Oxford University, will meet in the Fontán Building of Cidade da Cultura. The invited speakers are leaders in CiQUS's strategic research areas and represent the commitment to young talent and gender balance.
CiQUS, a Galician example of global excellence
The Singular Centre for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS), which borned in 2011, was the first one of a network of centres with a new organisational and operational model, which constituted the fundamental element of the R&D strategy of the CAMPUS VIDA project (Campus of International Excellence) of USC. CiQUS is accredited as a Research Centre of the Galician University System (SUG) and is supported by Consellería de Cultura, Educación e Universidade.
CiQUS develops its research in the field of Chemistry in connection with Biology and Material Science, promoting the advance of science at the frontier of knowledge between synthetic chemistry, cell biology and functional materials. Its aim, in addition to produce top-level science, is to train new scientists, professionals and future leaders, creating socio-economic progress and technology transfer and contributing to the international prestige of USC and, by extension, of Galician talent.