Carlos Martínez Alonso facts for kids

Carlos Martínez Alonso is a famous Spanish scientist. He was born in Villasimpliz, a small town in León, Spain, on January 9, 1950. He is known for his important work in science, especially in a field called immunology. This is the study of how our bodies fight off sickness.

Carlos Martínez Alonso first studied chemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid in 1974. Four years later, in 1978, he earned his Ph.D. in immunology from the same university. He held very important jobs in Spain. From 2004 to 2008, he was the President of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). This is a big organization that helps with scientific research in Spain. After that, from 2008 to 2009, he was the Secretary of State for Research in the Ministry of Science and Innovation. This means he helped lead science and new ideas for the whole country.

He has worked at many famous science places around the world. These include the Basel Institute for Immunology in Switzerland, the Pasteur Institute in France, and 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 for many years.

Carlos Martínez Alonso is also a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). He was even the president of the European Molecular Biology Conference for a few years. He has written more than 400 articles for science magazines. These articles share his discoveries with other scientists.

What He Studied and His Awards

As an immunologist, Carlos Martínez Alonso has helped us understand how our body's defense cells, called lymphocytes, work. He studied how these cells get activated and how this can sometimes lead to diseases where the body attacks itself. He also found out how certain signals, called cytokines and chemokines, affect things like HIV-1 infection, how cells move around, and even cancer.

Today, he is very interested in stem cells. These are special cells that can turn into many different types of cells in the body. He studies how these cells decide to either stay as stem cells or change into other cells. This research is important for understanding cancer, how to fix damaged body parts (regenerative medicine), and inflammation. He has published over 460 articles in top science journals. Many students he trained are now leading scientists around the world.

He is a member of several important science groups, like the Academia Europaea. He has also received many awards for his scientific work. Some of these include the DuPont Prize for Science, the Rey Jaime I Award for Scientific Research, and the Spanish National Award of Medicine "Gregorio Marañon." In 2014, he received the International Award for Science and Technology from the Government of Mexico. He also holds a high honor called the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito Civil.

His Leadership Roles

Carlos Martínez Alonso has held many important leadership positions in science. He was a representative for Europe in the NATO Scientific Program. He was also the Vice-president of the EMBL Board of Trustees, which is part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. He helped lead the European Heads of Research Organizations (EUROHORCS).

He was also involved with the European Research Council (ERC). This group gives money to scientists for their research. He helped choose which young scientists would get grants in 2007 and which big research projects would get funding in 2012 and 2013.

He was also on the board of many important Spanish research centers. These include the CDTI, which helps new technologies grow, and the Spanish National Library. He also led institutes focused on farming, health, space, oceans, and energy.

Besides his work in big organizations, he also helped start two companies. With Antonio Bernad and Cristina Garmendia, he co-founded a biotechnology company called Genetrix. With Alfonso Valencia, Roderic Guigo, and Jose Dopazo, he helped start a company called Alma, which works with bioinformatics (using computers to understand biology).

See also

In Spanish: Carlos Martínez Alonso para niños