Dr. Manel Esteller, head of the Cancer Epigenetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), ICREA Research Professor and Chair of Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona, has been awarded the Burdinola Research Award. Its purpose is to promote the visibility and recognition of prestigious researchers and to promote and strengthen the development of science.

The award ceremony was held on Monday 16 September in the auditorium of the Josep Carreras Institute and was attended by Dr. Evarist Feliu, president of the Executive Committee of IJC, Mr. Mikel Martínez, General Director of Burdinola, Dr. Joseba Pineda, president of the Burdinola awards and dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing of the UPV-EHU, and Dr. Alfonso Henández, Secretary of the Burdinola awards and Director of the Euskoiker Foundation. The jury highlighted Dr. Esteller's research into cancer epigenetics and the development of new drugs.

After receiving the award, Dr. Manel Esteller gave a presentation on the research he has carried out in the field of new therapeutic strategies, active principles and molecular targets in medicine. His research has made it possible to provide hospital pharmacies with more tools and, in some cases, to improve the functioning of those that already exist.

Since the first edition in 1993, the Burdinola Award has become a reference among research professionals, with great names in the scientific field appearing on its list of awardees such as Dr. Margarita Salas, Dr. Joan Rodés, Dr. Avelino Corma, Dr. Maria José Alonso, Dr. Laura Lechuga and Dr. Ignacio Melero. In this XXI edition, Dr. Manel Esteller receives this recognition for his preclinical research in the field of epigenetic drugs, such as inhibitors of DNA methylation and histone modifications, as well as for his pioneering discoveries in compounds that affect RNA modification.

Dr Manel Esteller graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona and received his doctorate with a specialisation in molecular genetics of endometrial carcinoma from the same University. He was a postdoctoral researcher and associate at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, USA), where he studied DNA methylation and its relationship with cancer. He was in charge of the Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory of the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid from 2001 to 2008, returning that same year to Catalonia to lead the Cancer Epigenetics and Biology Programme (PEBC) of the Bellvitge Biomedical Campus. Since 2019, he leads the Cancer Epigenetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute. Dr Esteller's research has made it possible to understand the contribution of epigenetic alterations in various human pathologies, particularly cancer, and to obtain biomarkers of them, as well as to develop new treatments.