Spanish scientists Enjuanes, Esteban and Larraga, "Passion for Science" Award at the III edition of #LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival

The Science Museum of the University of Navarra has awarded the "Passion for Science" prize of the international science film festival #LabMeCrazy! to the Spanish scientists Luis Enjuanes, Mariano Esteban and Vicente Larraga, for their scientific career and their efforts in the fight against COVID-19. Bienvenido León, director of the festival, said: "The work of these three researchers perfectly represents the values that we want to promote with this recognition: excellence, tenacity and innovation. They are, without a doubt, examples of passion for science".

The three researchers from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) have been working for decades on the development of vaccines against infectious diseases. Now, they have returned to the laboratories to, together with their corresponding teams, contribute to the development of new vaccines against COVID-19. The proposal of Luis Enjuanes' team is a sterilizing vaccine, which blocks the entry of the virus through the mucous membranes of the nose by means of a spray, thus preventing infection in the vaccinated person. Although animal trials are currently underway, human clinical trials are expected to begin later this year. Mariano Esteban's team's vaccine uses a modified virus from the smallpox family, and is awaiting authorization from the Spanish Medicines Agency to begin human trials. Vicente Larraga's vaccine is based on synthetic DNA technology, unlike that of his colleagues, and clinical trials are expected to begin by the end of 2022. 

The three scientists expressed their gratitude for this recognition that rewards their research career. Esteban: " I have always been passionate about science and the Award honors what has marked my scientific career". For Enjuanes, research has occupied a large part of his life and he has lived it with true passion: "The passion for science, and particularly for virology, has given us very strong sensations, absorbing and full of emotions". And Larraga: "For me, this award is an honor and a stimulus. The recognition of other researchers is a satisfaction and an incentive that helps us to strive to achieve a protective vaccine against COVID19 that is useful for the most disadvantaged people on the planet".

In the first edition of this #LabMeCrazy! festival, Francis Mójica, a researcher at the University of Alicante, received this recognition for his findings in the development of CRISPR-Cas technology. Last year, the Spanish scientist Margarita del Val, virologist and researcher at the Severo Ochoa Molecular Biology Center (CSIC-UAM) in Madrid, took the baton.

The "Passion for Science" award will be presented at the awards gala of the III edition of #LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival, which will take place on Thursday, February 24, 2022. One day later, on February 25, the three scientists will have a round table with students and young researchers from the University of Navarra.

#LabMeCrazy! Science Film Festival is an international scientific film festival, promoted by the Science Museum of the University of Navarra -with the collaboration of the Government of Navarra, Pamplona City Council, Laboral Kutxa and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology FECYT/Ministry of Science and Innovation-, which aims to bring science closer to society and especially to the new generations. The activities of the III edition of the festival will be held from February 21 to 24, 2022 in Pamplona.

Additional information about the awardees

→ Luis Enjuanes has worked in the field of Virology for more than 40 years and has published more than 220 articles in international journals and 58 book chapters. He is currently Research Professor and Head of the Coronavirus Laboratory at the National Biotechnology Center of CSIC where he studies the mechanisms of replication, transcription, virulence and virus-host interaction of coronaviruses. Enjuanes teaches at the Autonomous University of Madrid and at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Among his most important recognitions are the appointment as member of the National Academy of Science of the United States; academician of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, and academician of the North American Academy of Microbiology; medal of Merit in Research and University Education awarded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain; distinguished virologist by the Spanish Society of Virology; consultant of the World Health Organization; and editor-in-chief of the journal "Virus Research".

→ Vicente Larraga is Research Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Parasitology and Vaccines at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas-Margarita Salas of CSIC where he has been researching, for 30 years, on the development of DNA vaccines against leishmaniasis, and currently against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. With more than 130 articles in books and prestigious journals, he is a member of the Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; the New York Academy of Sciences; the Spanish Society of Tropical Medicine and International Health; and the Spanish Society of Parasitology. Some merits pointed out in Professor Larraga's career: he was a member of the General Section of the National R&D Plan (1987-89), vice-president of the CSIC (1989-92) and director of the Biological Research Center (2005-2012). Member of the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy.

→ Mariano Esteban is Research Professor at CSIC and head of the Poxvirus and Vaccines group at the National Center of Biotechnology. His research has focused on the knowledge of the molecular biology of pathogens such as viruses to develop procedures for the control of infectious diseases. Professor Esteban's scientific contributions represent 240 papers published in international journals, 250 communications presented at national and international congresses and six patents. He has lectured and taught in different countries and is a member of numerous international scientific associations such as the British Association of Microbiology, the New York Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Esteban has obtained several scientific distinctions such as the New York Board of Health Award or the appointment of Full Academician of the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy.