María Blanco, University professor, joins the French National Academy of Medicine

María Blanco Prieto, professor at the University of Navarra, has been admitted to the French National Academy of Medicine, obtaining the support of 99.5% of the members. She thus becomes the second Spaniard and the first woman to belong to this institution. The admission ceremony will take place during the solemn session to be held in early January 2025.

The Royal Academy of Medicine, created by Louis XVIII in 1820, merged three medical scientific societies: the Royal Society of Medicine, the Royal Academy of Surgery and the Society of the School of Medicine. The primary role of the National Academy of Medicine is to advise the government on public health issues. In addition to this advisory role, the academy is also dedicated to the improvement and dissemination of medical and pharmaceutical sciences and their applications.

María Blanco, professor at School of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Navarra, focuses her research on the development of nanomedicines for the treatment of cancer (in particular childhood cancer), as well as on the regeneration of cardiac and brain tissue through the use of tissue engineering. His research in these areas has been recognized with numerous national and international awards.

Among other awards, he is a member of the French National Academy of Pharmacy, the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Galicia and the Academia Europaea. From 2020 to March 2024, he served as President of the Spanish Society of Industrial and Galenic Pharmacy (SEFIG). He is also a member of the high school of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), one of the most important associations in the biomedical engineering sector based in Washington DC. Since January 2023, he is President of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Sciences (EUFEPS).

She is the author of more than 175 articles in research and book chapters with more than 10,000 citations, six editorials, five patents and more than 230 communications in scientific congresses. In addition, she has directed more than 35 competitive research projects, is an expert of the European Commission in nanomedicine and is part of the committee of experts of the Agency for the Quality of the University System of Castilla y León and the Acredita Commission of National Agency for Assessment of Quality and Accreditation. She is also a member of the committee publishing house of several scientific journals, including Cancer Letters and Journal of Controlled Release.