Seville, Thursday 20 March 2014. The scientist from the Institute of Plant Biology and Photosynthesis, Irene Díaz Moreno, was awarded the 2nd Manuel Losada Villasante Award for Excellence in Research.
The award ceremony was held at the Parador de Carmona (Seville) and was attended by the Director of Contents of Cadena Ser Andalucía, the Mayor of Carmona, the Director of Communications of the Cajasol Foundation, the Managing Director of the Interalimentario Forum, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development of the Andalusian Government, and the Minister of Economy, Innovation, Science and Employment of the Andalusian Government. The Vice-Chancellor for Research of the Hispalense University and Professor Manuel Losada Villasante were also present.
This award, organised by Cadena SER in Seville and the Carmona City Council, is endowed with 10,000 euros – 6,000 for Excellence and 4,000 for the agri-food sector – and its main objective is to support young researchers who carry out their work in Seville.
Irene Díaz-Moreno is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Seville, belongs to the research group ‘Structural and Functional Proteomics’, and is responsible for the projects ‘Apicoplast Interactomics in Malaria’ and ‘Post-Transactional Regulation of Programmed Cell Death’.
Professor Antonio Jesús Meléndez has been awarded for his work in the agri-food sector. He carries out his research in the ‘Food Colour and Quality’ group and is responsible for two projects related to the ‘Use of Colourless Carotenoids as Functional Ingredients’ and the ‘Ibero-American Network for the study of new bioactive carotenoids as food ingredients’. The jury for the 2nd ‘Manuel Losada Villasante’ Award for Excellence in Research is made up of the director of News for Cadena SER Andalucía, Diego Suárez; the mayor of Carmona, Juan Ávila; the rector of the University of Seville, Antonio Ramírez de Arellano; the professor of Organic Chemistry at the US, Rosario Fernández; the director of Institutional Relations at the Cajasol Foundation, Pilar Lacasta; the professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the US, Guillermo Antiñolo; and the managing director of the Inter-Food Forum, Víctor Yuste.