The award ceremony took place on Monday, September 16th, at the auditorium of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Badalona.
The award recognizes the work of Dr. Manel Esteller, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona, who was acknowledged by the jury of the XXI Burdinola Research Award as deserving of this honor. This edition aimed to highlight the most outstanding work in the field of research on “New therapeutic strategies, active principles, and molecular targets in medicine.” Professor Manel Esteller is a world leader in cancer epigenetics and the emerging field of epitranscriptomics.
The ceremony of the XXI Burdinola Research Award, held at the auditorium of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Badalona, was chaired by Dr. Evarist Feliu, President of the Delegated Commission of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, accompanied by Mr. Joseba Pineda, president of the Burdinola awards and dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing at UPV-EHU, Mr. Alfonso Hernández, secretary of the Burdinola awards and director of the University-Enterprise Foundation Euskoiker, and Mr. Mikel Martínez, CEO of Burdinola S.Coop, who presented the diploma and the €15,000 prize.
A World Leader in Cancer Epigenetics
In his lecture, Dr. Esteller explained how epigenetic defects in tumors can be used for more personalized drug therapies. He also highlighted how alterations in DNA methylation and chemical modifications of proteins called histones have led to the development of a new superfamily of cancer drugs, which are already being effectively used to treat subtypes of leukemias, lymphomas, and sarcomas.
Burdinola and the Award
Burdinola is a company specializing in the planning and integration of laboratories, with the following mission: “We create the safest and most efficient laboratory projects in the world, where researchers enjoy improving society.” It is precisely this goal—”improving society”—that drives and inspires Burdinola to continue launching new editions of the award each year with the same enthusiasm and impact as on the very first day in 1993.
Since then, Burdinola has maintained its commitment to the scientific community by promoting and strengthening the development of science in Spain. The list of awardees continues to grow with prominent names from the Spanish scientific field.
The jury’s decision for this edition was announced on July 9th, during a meeting held at Burdinola’s facilities in Amoroto (Bizkaia), where seven expert members evaluated the various candidacies. They highlighted the excellent participation and the extremely high level of all the submissions, with Dr. Esteller’s candidacy ultimately being chosen for the XXI Burdinola Research Award.
