Jesús Bañales, Full Professor the University, receives the 2026 award Clements award , the highest honor bestowed by the American Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation

Dr. Jesús Bañales, Full Professor Biochemistry Genetics the University of Navarra and researcher at Biogipuzkoa and the CIBER for Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBERehd), has been honored with the research award Clements research award , the highest distinction awarded by the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF) in the United States.

Dr. Bañales received this award the Foundation’s congress , held last May in Salt Lake City (Utah, U.S.). In his speech the importance of partnership among researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, and patient organizations to continue advancing research treatment for biliary cancer.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Foundation, international scientific networks, his research team, his family, and especially to the patients and their families, emphasizing that their trust, commitment, and generosity are essential to advancing research moving toward a future in which this disease can be better understood and treated.

For its part, the jury—chaired by Stacie Lindsey, founder and president of the CCF, and Dr. Juan Valle, the organization’s director —highlighted Dr. Bañales’ vision, innovation, leadership, and ability to partnership , as well as the sustained impact of his scientific contributions in the field of cholangiocarcinoma.

This is the first time the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation has presented the award Clements award to a researcher the United States.

A degree program focused on research
Jesús Bañales holds graduate Biology (1999) and Biochemistry 2001), and a Ph.D. (2006) from the School of Science the University of Navarra. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Bañales has published more than 80 scientific papers on cholangiocarcinoma in high-impact international journals, and since 2015 he has coordinated the leading international consensus guidelines on this disease, published in the reference letter journal*Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology*.

Among his major scientific contributions throughout his degree program the creation and coordination of the network for the Study of Cholangiocarcinoma (ENS-CCA), considered an reference letter in research and clinical research on this disease. He also leads global initiatives such as the International Registry of Biliary Tract Cancer Patients, which compiles information on more than 7,000 patients worldwide and is advancing our knowledge the disease’s progression, improving its clinical classification, and identifying new diagnostic markers and predictors of treatment response.