Ramón J. Estévez Cabanas

Ramón J. Estévez Cabanas (La Estrada, Pontevedra), studied Chemistry at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC, 1975), as well as PhD studies, under the direction of Prof. Dr. D. Luís Castedo and Prof. Dr. D. Rafael Suau (USC, 1979), having made several postdoctoral stays at the University of Oxford, in the group of Professor George W. J. Fleet. In 1984 he became Lecturer of Organic Chemistry and in 2003 he became Full Professor.

His research work, initially focused on the chemistry of natural products, especially isoquinoline and indole alkaloids, has later evolved towards the field of carbohydrates, as a source of highly functionalized carbocyclic and heterocyclic compounds of biological interest, as organocatalysts and as monomeric substances for access to novel materials with potential applications in biological chemistry and materials science.

Part of this work was carried out in collaboration with Prof. George W. J. Fleet (Oxford University, UK), Dr. Atsushi Kato (Toyama University, Japan), Prof. Jesús Jiménez Barbero (CICBiogune, Bilbao, Spain), Prof. Pilar Rauter and Dr. Nuno Xavier (University of Lisbon, Portugal) and Dr. Raquel Soengas (University of Oviedo, Spain).

His interest on the valorisation of university research and entrepreneurship has led him to participate in the creation of four technology-based companies at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Galchimia, AMSlab and ChemoSapiens) and at the University of Vigo (Green Solutions).

He has been vice-President and President of the Carbohydrates Group of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry.

He has extensive experience in university management, having held the positions of Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of Lugo and Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of the USC. He is currently Director of the Department of Organic Chemistry at USC, as well as coordinator of the Inter-University Master's Degree in Organic Chemistry and the PhD Programme in Chemical Science and Technology.