Africa Holguin – human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- Women Researcher Award

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Africa Holguin – human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- Women Researcher Award

Dr. Africa Holguin distinguished academic and researcher in the field Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). She is the Head of the HIV-1 Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory, affiliated with the Microbiology Department at Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid and the Ramón y Cajal Health Research Institute (IRYCIS). As the leader of numerous national and international research projects, she secures funding from both public and private sources, oversees budget administration, and provides the essential expertise and leadership skills to guide and train her team successfully. She has authored over 150 scientific papers in international journals, often serving as the first or last author. Her research group collaborates with national partners and international public health agencies, focusing on well-established pediatric and adult populations across various countries. For more details on her publications, see her Google Scholar profile.

 

🌐 Professional Profile

Educations📚📚📚

She holds a Doctorate in Molecular Biology from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain, earned in 1996, and a Licentiate in Biological Sciences with a specialization in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the same university, completed in 1991. In 2011, she completed the “BIOCAMPUS 2011” Bioentrepreneurship training program, comprising 280 hours, organized by Fundación Genoma España. Additionally, she has undertaken more than 400 hours of training in leadership skills, human resources management, teamwork, coaching, leadership, negotiation, and strategy through various public courses organized by the Instituto de Administración Pública de Madrid (MAP) and the Dirección General de Función Pública de la Comunidad de Madrid.

Research Experiences

She is currently an Investigadora Titular del Sistema Nacional de Salud and the head of the HIV Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory at IRYCIS, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, in Madrid, a position she has held since 2022. Her career includes various roles, starting as a Becaria de Colaboración del MEC at the Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa,” CSIC, in Spain from 1989 to 1990. She then served as a predoctoral fellow at the same institution from 1990 to 1996 and a visiting predoctoral researcher at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, in 1995. From 1996 to 2000, she was a postdoctoral fellow funded by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS) at Hospital Carlos III in Madrid. In 1997, she also worked as a visiting postdoctoral researcher at the Georg-Speyer-Haus Institute in Frankfurt, Germany. From 2000 to 2008, she was an investigator at the Sistema Nacional de Salud, Hospital Carlos III. Since 2006, she has been a stabilized investigator at the Fundación para la Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Ramón y Cajal in Madrid.

Activities of technology / knowledge transfer and results exploitation

  • Actualmente la Unidad de Innovación del Instituto para la Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS)
    del Hospital Ramón y Cajal de Madrid está valorando la mejor vía de protección de unos
    aptámeros que reconocen específicamente regiones altamente conservadas de varias
    proteínas del VIH para una futura aplicación diagnóstica.
  • La Dra. Holguín es autora al 40% del programa BioInformático EpiMolBIo (Registro
    2305114294344 en SAFE CREATIVE S.L, 11-5-2023) para analizar secuencias genéticas
    de patógenos y de genes/proteínas de interés biomédico. Con él se analizó la conservación
    de la región de las 5 proteínas del virus usadas para seleccionar los aptámeros anti VIH
    de este proyecto (PMID:35495642, 35694284, 35910645, 33586996), y para estudiar la
    evolución del SARS-CoV-2 en España (PMID:35742840) y mundo (PMID:33557213)
📝🔬Publications📝🔬

1. Scientific paper. Valadés-Alcaraz, A.; Reinosa, R.; González-Hevilla, M.; Medina-Sánchez,
C.; Martín, M. A.; (6/6) Holguín, A. (AC). 2024. Development and characterization of
High-Affinity Aptamers for HIV Protease Detection. (Submitted).Nucleic Acids Research
(Open Acess). (JIF: 14.9, Decil 1 – 10/285, JCR 2022).

2. Scientific paper. Reinosa, R.; Troyano-Hernáez, P.; Valadés-Alcaraz, A.; (4/4) Holguín, A.
(AC). 2024. EpiMolBio: A Novel User-Friendly Bioinformatic Program for Genetic Variability
Analysis. (Submitted).Bioinformatics (Open Access). (JIF: 5.8, Q1 – 24/158 in Bioechnology
& applied Microbiology, JCR 2022).

3. Scientific paper. Rodríguez-Galet, A.; Ventosa-Cubillo, J.; Bendomo, V.; et al; (9/9)
Holguín, A. (AC). 2024. HIV Diagnosis in Equatorial Guinea. Keys to reduce the diagnostic
and therapeutic delay. (Submitted). Journal of Infection and Public Health (Open Acess).
(JIF: 6.7, Q1 – 18/96 in Infectious Diseases, JCR 2022).

4. Scientific paper. Martínez De Aguirre, P.; Carlos, S.; Pina-Sánchez, M.; et al; Reina,
G.; (8/9) Holguín, A.2024. High pre-Delta and early-Omicron SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence
detected in dried blood samples from Kinshasa (D.R.Congo) (In press).Journal of Medical
Virology (Open Access). (JIF: 12.7, Decil 1 – 2/36, JCR 2022).

5. Scientific paper. Rodríguez-Galet, A.; Ventosa-Cubillo, J.; Eyene, M.; et al; (9/9) Holguín,
A. (AC). 2024. Immunity to six vaccine pathogens in HIV+ and HIV- children in Bata city,
Equatorial Guinea. (In press). Vaccines (Open Acess). (JIF: 7.8, Q1- 24/136 in Medicine,
Research & Experimental, JCR 2022).

6. Scientific paper. Epalza, C.; Valadés-Alcaraz, A.; González-Alba, J.M.; et al; (14/14)
Holguín, A. (AC). 2024. Transmitted Drug Resistance and HIV Diversity Among
Adolescents Newly Diagnosed With HIV in Spain.The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
(Open Acess). (JIF: 3.6, Q1 – 23/130 in Pediatrics, JCR 2022).43, pp.40-48. PMID:
37922511. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000004138

7. Scientific paper. Mbuagbaw L; Garcia C; Brenner B; et al; Jordan, M.R.; (7/15)
Holguin, A.2023. Checklist for studies of HIV drug resistance prevalence or
incidence: rationale and recommended use.The Lancet HIV (Open Access). (JIF:
16.1, Decil 1 – 6/96 in Infectious Diseases, JCR 2022). 10, pp.e684-e689. PMID:
37716367. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-3018(23)00173-X

8. Scientific paper. Ventosa-Cubillo, J.; Pinzón, R.; González-Alba, J.M.; Estripeaut, D.;
Navarro, M.L.; (6/6) Holguín, A. (AC). 2023. Drug resistance in children and adolescents
with HIV in Panama.The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (Open Access). (JIF:
5.2, Q1- 55/278 in Pharmacology & Pharmacy

Laurent Lagadic – Chemical Environmental Safety Award – Industry Impact Award

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Laurent Lagadic – Chemical Environmental Safety Award – Industry Impact Award

Dr. Laurent Lagadic distinguished academic and researcher in the field Chemical Environmental Safety. Laurent is a Member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) since 1995. He was the Chair of the Scientific Committee and co-organiser of the 15th and 26th SETAC Europe Annual Meetings (~2000 delegates each). He was elected in 2012 as the Vice-President of SETAC-Europe and officiated as President from May 2013 to May 2014. He joined the SETAC World Council from 2012 to 2015. Laurent left the SETAC Europe Council in May 2015 but is still involved in different activities of the Society, including the Endocrine Disruption Testing and Risk Assessment Interest Group (EDTRA IG) and the Sounding Board of SETAC Europe for EFSA’s Stakeholder Bureau.

His dedication to advancing the field of ecotoxicology and his commitment to education, mentorship, and collaboration make Laurent Lagadic a respected leader in his field, with a profound impact on both scientific research and environmental policy.

🌐 Professional Profiles

Educations📚📚📚

He holds a BSc in Organism and Population Biology from the University of Paris XI, Orsay, France (1985), an MSc in Experimental Ecology from the University of Pau & Pays de l’Adour, France (1986), a PhD in Fundamental Toxicology from the University of Paris XI, Orsay, France (1991), and a Habilitation (Accreditation to supervise research; HDR) from the University of Rennes 1, France (1999).

His professional experience includes roles such as Scientific Assistant granted by Sandoz, Basel, Switzerland (1988-1991), Scientific Trainee granted by Bayer AG, Monheim, Germany (1989-1990), Post-doctoral Fellow at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK (1991-1992), Junior Scientist at the Seine-Normandie Water Agency, Paris, France (1992-1994), Senior Scientist (CR1) at the French National Institute for Agriculture Research (INRA), Rennes, France (1994-2003), Research Director (DR2) at INRA, Rennes, France (2003-2014), Scientific Manager, Senior Science Fellow – Aquatic Ecotoxicology at Bayer AG, R&D, Crop Science Division, Monheim, Germany (2014-2020), and currently, he serves as Scientific Manager, Senior Science Fellow – Environmental Safety Assessment and Strategy (ESAS) at Bayer AG, R&D, Crop Science Division, Monheim, Germany.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Throughout his illustrious career, Laurent Lagadic has been recognized with several prestigious honors and awards for his outstanding contributions to the field of ecotoxicology:

  • He was awarded the Dufrenoy Research Fellowship from the French Agriculture Academy, Paris, in 1989, in recognition of his early research endeavors.
  • In 1991, Laurent was granted the esteemed Lavoisier Post-doctoral Fellowship by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During this fellowship, he resided at the Maison Française d’Oxford, furthering his research and academic collaborations.
  • His significant contributions to the field were acknowledged with the AstraZeneca Best Publication Award of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Europe Geographic Unit, in 2011. This award highlights his excellence in scientific publication and research dissemination within the European ecotoxicology community.

Professional experience:

He has held various significant positions throughout his career, including roles at esteemed organizations such as Sandoz in Basel, Switzerland, where he served as a Scientific Assistant from 1988 to 1991. Following this, he embarked on a Scientific Trainee position at Bayer AG in Monheim, Germany, from 1989 to 1990.

Continuing his journey, Laurent Lagadic transitioned to a Post-doctoral Fellow role at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, UK, where he further honed his research skills from 1991 to 1992. Subsequently, he joined the Seine-Normandie Water Agency in Paris, France, as a Junior Scientist from 1992 to 1994, contributing to environmental research initiatives.

His career then flourished at the French National Institute for Agriculture Research (INRA) in Rennes, France, where he served in various capacities. Initially, he held the position of Senior Scientist (CR1) from 1994 to 2003, followed by a promotion to Research Director (DR2) from 2003 to 2014, where he provided leadership in ecological research endeavors.

In 2014, he transitioned to Bayer AG’s R&D, Crop Science Division, based in Monheim, Germany, assuming the role of Scientific Manager and Senior Science Fellow specializing in Aquatic Ecotoxicology. In this capacity, he played a pivotal role in developing strategies for assessing the environmental impact of agricultural products.

Currently, he continues to excel at Bayer AG, where he serves as a Scientific Manager and Senior Science Fellow specializing in Environmental Safety Assessment and Strategy (ESAS), contributing his expertise to furthering environmental sustainability efforts within the Crop Science Division.

📝🔬Publications📝🔬