Mariano Esteban, on the Spanish National Science Team according to QUO magazine

Mariano Esteban is a researcher at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología of the CSIC (CNB-CSIC), president of the Royal Academy of Pharmacy, and now also a member of the Spanish National Science Team. This annual initiative by the popular science magazine QUO highlights the 12 most outstanding scientists.

The virologist leads the poxvirus and vaccines laboratory at the CNB-CSIC. His research group fights the pathogens that cause diseases such as AIDS, malaria, leishmaniasis, Ebola haemorrhagic fever and chikungunya. With the support of international institutions such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has developed a candidate HIV vaccine that, in early phase I clinical trials, has already been shown immunologically safe and effective as a prophylactic and therapeutic treatment.

The 12 scientists selected by QUO met on 4 October at the Gala for Science organised jointly by the magazine and the CSIC. Also invited to the event were some of the country’s best Olympic athletes, personalities from the world of science policy including Secretary of State Carmen Vela and CSIC President Emilio Lora-Tamayo, as well as specialised science journalists. The gala was presented by Goyo Giménez, who added a touch of humor to the proceedings.

All attendees at the gala valued the efforts of scientists, who "devote their lives to playing the most difficult games in a league in which every goal improves our society," according to QUO magazine.

With Mariano Esteban, the scientists selected in 2016 work in fields as diverse as transplant surgery, Egyptology, oncology, genetics and physics.

The election of the Spanish National Science Team for 2016 has been done by a jury composed of specialists and personalities from the scientific world. Together with Mariano Esteban, this year the selected scientists are Pedro Cavadas, Mariano Barbacid, Susana Marcos, Alberto Ruiz Jimeno, Laura M. Lechuga, Francisco J. Martinez Mojica, José Manuel Galán, José Manuel Gómez Cadenas, Carmen Martínez, Mara Dierssen and Miguel Delibes.