| Abarca Prize | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Juan Abarca International Award for Medical Sciences | |
 | |
| Awarded for | Biomedical research of global significance |
| Sponsored by | Fundación de Investigación HM Hospitales |
| Country | Spain |
| Reward(s) | 100,000 € |
| Established | 2021 |
| Website | https://www.abarcaprize.com/ |
The Doctor Juan Abarca International Award in Medical Sciences, known as the Abarca Prize, is an award that recognises research and innovation through a biomedical finding of global significance. [1] [2]
Created in 2020 by the Fundación de Investigación HM Hospitales, it is awarded to the scientific or medical career of a person who has made a significant contribution to the protection, improvement or rehabilitation of people's health. [3]
The award, endowed with 100,000 euros, [4] is inspired by the Spanish surgeon Juan Abarca Campal, founder of HM Hospitales. [5] The jury, appointed by the Fundación de Investigación HM Hospitales, is made up of members of the scientific community.
The first edition of the award was held in October 2021. The award ceremony was chaired by King Felipe VI. [6] The jury was headed by Alberto Muñoz, professor at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas de Madrid (IIBM) and included Richard Horton, editor of The Lancet, Silvia G. Priori, scientific director of the ICS Maugeri Hospital, [7] palaeoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsuaga, and Federico de Montalvo, former president of the Spanish Bioethics Committee. The Abarca Prize was awarded to Professor Jean-Laurent Casanova for his findings in the field of human infections and the genetic variations that affect a person's ability to fight them. [2] Dr. Casanova is a researcher at Rockefeller University Hospital in New York and director of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics and Infectious Diseases.
In 2022 the prize was awarded to Professor Philippe J. Sansonetti of the Pasteur Institute for his research on Shigellosis or bacillary dysentery. [8] This diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Shigella causes thousands of deaths annually in developed countries, mainly affecting children. [9] The jury was composed of Professors Juan Luis Arsuaga, Silvia Priori, Jean-Laurent Casanova and Federico de Montalvo, and was chaired by Professor Alberto Muñoz, from the Institute of Biomedical Research of Madrid (IIB- CSIC). [10] The award was presented by the Spanish Secretary of State for Health, Silvia Calzón. [11]
Professor Douglas A. Melton, won the III Abarca Prize in its 2023 call, for his advances towards a cure for diabetes. [12] Douglas A. Melton is co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, a Howard Hughes Institute of Medicine investigator and an investigator at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. [13]
Melton's research has pioneered the process of converting stem cells into insulin-producing beta cells, which would enable cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes. [14] The award was presented by the Spanish Minister of Health, José Miñones. [15]
The University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus — Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Médicas (UPR-RCM) in Spanish— is a public health sciences-oriented university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is part of the University of Puerto Rico System and is located on the grounds of the Puerto Rico Medical Center.
The Central University of Venezuela is a public university located in Caracas, Venezuela. The university is widely regarded as the highest ranking institution in the country. Founded in 1721, it is the oldest university in Venezuela and one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. It is ranked 18th among the universities in Latin America.
The National Prize for Arts and Sciences is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal and 520,000 pesos.
Antonio Krapovickas was an Argentine agronomist.
Philippe J. Sansonetti is a French microbiologist, professor at the Pasteur Institute and the Collège de France in Paris. He is the director of the Inserm Unit 786 and of the Institut Pasteur laboratory Pathogénie Microbienne Moléculaire.
Domingo Castillejo or Castillejos was a Spanish botanist, surgeon, and professor. From 1770 to 1786, he served as a professor of materia medica and botany at the Royal Naval College of Surgery in Cádiz, during which time his studies were devoted to the flora of the southern Iberian Peninsula. Among the many positions he held during this time was Cádiz correspondent for the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid; in this position he received many new plants imported from the New World, and acclimatized them for distribution to other nurseries throughout Spain and the Canary Islands.
The Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) is a Spanish foundation for interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Located on the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the institute also offers education programs, training to researchers and services to industry and the scientific community. It is integrated in the research centers organization of the Generalitat de Catalunya (CERCA).
Two institutions grant the Fastenrath Awards: Fundación Premio Fastenrath awards writers of Spanish nationality and their Spanish works and Premi Fastenrath for Catalan works. Both were instituted with the posthumous legacy of Johannes Fastenrath Hürxthal.
Salvador Illa Roca is a Spanish politician who served as Minister of Health of Spain from 2020 to 2021. He has been the Secretary for Organization of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia since 2016, and the candidate for the presidency of Catalonia for this party. Previously, Illa served as Mayor of La Roca del Vallès from 1995 to 2005.
Fernando Simón Soria is a Spanish epidemiologist serving as Director of the Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies of the Ministry of Health. He came to public prominence as spokesman for the special committee on Ebola virus disease in Spain in 2014, and a similar role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Simón tested positive for coronavirus on 30 March 2020.
The Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor is a general hospital managed under a public–private partnership model, located at the neighborhood of Santa Eugenia,in the Villa de Vallecas district in Madrid, Spain. It is part of the network of hospitals of the Servicio Madrileño de Salud (SERMAS).
Antonio Alarco Hernandez is a Spanish politician, surgeon and professor. He was elected into the senate of Spain since 2008 representing Tenerife under the People's Party (Spain). He has served on the 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Cortes Generales of Spain. He is a professor of Surgery at the University of La Laguna and a physician.
Patricia Majluf Chiok is a Peruvian biologist, zoologist, researcher and conservationist. She founded the Center for Environmental Sustainability (CSA) at the Cayetano Heredia University in 2006. She is currently the Vice President in Peru of Oceana, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the oceans.
The Faculty of Medical Sciences, formerly and commonly known as the Faculty of Medicine, is the medical school of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), the largest university in Argentina. Established in 1822 as one of the UBA's earliest divisions, FMED is presently the largest medical school in Argentina, with over 24,000 enrolled students as of 2011.
Juan Abarca Campal is a Spanish physician and surgeon, businessman and founder of the HM Hospitales group.
Juan Pedro Bolaños Hernández is a biochemist and neuroscientist specializing in neuroenergetics and metabolism. He is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Salamanca. His investigation focuses on the understanding of molecular mechanisms that regulate the metabolism and redox homeostasis in the cells of the central nervous system. He has received several recognitions throughout his scientific career. Among them is the Premio Castilla y León de Investigación Científica y Técnica e Innovación.
Silvia Calzón Fernández is a Spanish epidemiologist and politician who is currently serving as Spain's Secretary of State for Health, a role she has held since August 5, 2020.
HM Hospitales is a private Spanish hospital group with a presence in the autonomous communities of Madrid, Galicia, Catalonia, Andalusia, Castilla-León and Castilla-La Mancha. It has 48 healthcare centers. Since 2008, the hospitals in the Community of Madrid have been university hospitals carrying out research and teaching.
Juan Abarca Cidón is a Spanish doctor, lawyer, and businessman. He is president of the HM Hospitales Group and of Profesionales de la Medicina y el Derecho (PROMEDE), an expert witness company. He is an advocate of the private health care model, and part of the political debate on public and private healthcare.
Carlos Fuentenebro Zabala is a Spanish lawyer, jurist and businessperson. He is currently the Chairperson of the Biscay Bar Association and Vice-Chair of the General Council of Spanish Lawyers (CGAE).