Mercedes Vila Juárez (born 1975) is a Spanish material science researcher. She is the
chief technology officer (CTO) and co-founder of
BioTech Foods SL.
Path
Mercedes Vila Juárez Vila was born in
Madrid, Spain. graduated in Physics from the
Autonomous University of Madrid with a doctorate in Materials Physics, in December 2003.
She did five years of international post-doctoral experience, funded by a Marie Curie Intra-European fellowship and several national programs of investigation, to develop biomaterials surfaces using physical and chemical methods.
In 2008, she incorporated as a
Ramón y Cajal Investigator at the faculty of Pharmacy of the
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid ( es, Universidad Complutense de Madrid; UCM, links=no, ''Universidad de Madrid'', ''Universidad Central de Madrid''; la, Universitas Complutensis Matritensis, links=no) is a public research university loca ...
, in one of the most prestigious European groups of Nanomedice and regenerative
Tissue engineering
Tissue engineering is a biomedical engineering discipline that uses a combination of Cell (biology), cells, engineering, Materials science, materials methods, and suitable biochemistry, biochemical and physicochemical factors to restore, maintai ...
, with the funding of an ERG-Marie Curie Action grant (2008–2010).
During this period, she developed materials for the reconstruction of the loss of
bone mass
Bone density, or bone mineral density, is the amount of bone mineral in bone tissue. The concept is of mass of mineral per volume of bone (relating to density in the physics sense), although clinically it is measured by proxy according to optica ...
, with what promised to improve the quality of life of patients with some injuries, and pathologies such as
bone cancer or
osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...
.
Her work has focused on understanding materials-cells interactions, and the design and applications of
nanoparticles based on
graphene oxide
An oxide () is a chemical compound that contains at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– (molecular) ion. with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the ...
for cancer hyperthermia. .
In November 2010, she was awarded, with four other scientists (
Isabel Lastres Becker,
Ana Briones Alonso,
Elena Ramírez Parra and
María Antonia Herrero), the
L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science, with an endowment of €15000 to reward the work, for women younger than 40 years, to support woman in science.
In 2013, she was Principal Investigator at the
University of Aveiro
The University of Aveiro ( pt, Universidade de Aveiro) is a public university, in addition to providing polytechnic education, located in the Portuguese city of Aveiro. Founded in 1973, it has a student population of approximately 12,500, distri ...
, becoming laboratory coordinator for applications of carbon in nanomedicine. In 2015, while keeping her appointment as professor at the
University of Aveiro
The University of Aveiro ( pt, Universidade de Aveiro) is a public university, in addition to providing polytechnic education, located in the Portuguese city of Aveiro. Founded in 1973, it has a student population of approximately 12,500, distri ...
, she transferred to industry in 2015 as Scientific Director of Coating Technologies S.L.-CTECHnano,
She co-founded
BioTech Foods in February 2017, being the CTO of the company.
Awards
* 2006: Marie Curie IntraEuropean Fellowship. European Commission
* 2008: Marie Curie Reintegration Grant. European Commission
* 2010: Women in Science Award. L'Oreal Foundation-UNESCO
* 2017: Marie Curie Society & Enterprise. European Commission
See also
*
List of female scientists in the 21st century
This is a list of notable women scientists active in the 21st century.
Albania
* Mimoza Hafizi (born 1962), Albanian physicist
*Laura Mersini-Houghton, cosmology and theoretical physicist
* Afërdita Veveçka Priftaj (1948–2017), Albanian phy ...
*
List of Spanish inventors and discoverers
This is a list of inventors and discoverers who are of Spaniards, Spanish origin or otherwise reside in Spain, continental Spain or one of the Nationalities and regions of Spain, country's oversees territories.
A
*José de Acosta, José de Acost ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vila, Mercedes
Spanish women physicists
Spanish physicists
1975 births
Living people
Scientists from Madrid