Carlos Martínez Alonso facts for kids

Carlos Martínez Alonso (also known as Carlos Martinez-A.) is a famous Spanish scientist. He was born in Villasimpliz, a town in León, on January 9, 1950.

He studied chemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid and finished in 1974. Four years later, in 1978, he earned a Ph.D. in immunology from the same university. A Ph.D. is a very high degree that shows someone is an expert in their field.

Carlos Martínez Alonso has worked at many important science places around the world. These include the Basel Institute for Immunology in Switzerland and the Pasteur Institute in France. He also worked at the California Institute of Technology in the USA. Today, he works at the National Center for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) in Madrid. There, he helped start and lead the Department of Immunology and Oncology.

He was the President of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) from 2004 to 2008. The CSIC is the largest public research organization in Spain. After that, he became the Secretary of State for Research in the Ministry of Science and Innovation. This means he helped guide science and research for the Spanish government.

A Scientist's Journey and Achievements

Carlos Martínez Alonso is an expert in immunology. This is the study of the body's immune system, which fights off sickness. He has helped us understand how immune cells work. He also researched how these cells are involved in diseases like HIV-1 infection and cancer.

Today, he is very interested in stem cells. These are special cells that can turn into many different types of cells. He studies how they grow and change. This research is important for understanding cancer and for new ways to heal the body.

He has written over 460 scientific articles in top journals. Many students and young scientists have learned from him. They now work in leading science places all over the world.

Important Science Groups

Carlos Martínez Alonso is a member of several important science organizations. These include the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Academia Europaea. He was also the president of the European Molecular Biology Conference. He was the vice-president of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Germany.

He helps guide science programs for groups like NATO and the European Union. He is also on the team that reviews articles for many international science journals. He often shares science news with the public through media like radio and TV.

Awards and Honors

Carlos Martínez Alonso has received many awards for his scientific work. Some of these include:

• The DuPont Prize for Science
• The Rey Jaime I Award for Scientific Research
• The Spanish National Award of Medicine "Gregorio Marañon"
• The International Award for Science and Technology from the Government of Mexico

He also holds the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil, which is a high honor in Spain.

Leadership and Business Skills

Carlos Martínez Alonso has held many important leadership roles in science. He represented Europe in the NATO Scientific Program. He was also a vice-president for EUROHORCS, a group of European research organizations. He helped decide which research projects would get funding from the European Research Council (ERC).

He was on the board of several important Spanish organizations. These include:

• CDTI (which helps develop new technologies)
• The Spanish National Library
• INIA (Spanish Institute for Agrobiology)
• Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spanish Institute for Health Research)

He also helped start two companies. With Antonio Bernad and Cristina Garmendia, he founded Genetrix, a biotechnology company. With Alfonso Valencia, Roderic Guigo, and Jose Dopazo, he started Alma, a company focused on bioinformatics (using computers to understand biology).

See also

In Spanish: Carlos Martínez Alonso para niños