Three RAGC 2025 Research Medals Awarded to Scientists from the CIGUS Network

Three of the five 2025 RAGC Research Medals have been awarded to researchers from CICA and CITIC, two research centres that form part of the CIGUS network — an initiative promoted by the Xunta de Galicia that brings together centres within the system that have demonstrated scientific excellence.

This distinction recognises outstanding and consolidated research careers developed in Galicia, while also promoting the advancement of Galician science and technology. In the 2025 edition, five researchers were honoured: three from the University of A Coruña and two from the University of Vigo.

Professor M.ª Carmen Veiga, Chair of Chemical Engineering at the University of A Coruña and a member of CICA, received the Antonio Casares Rodríguez Medal, awarded in the Chemistry and Geology section. Veiga leads the Bioengin research group together with Christian H. Kennes, focusing on environmental biotechnology, particularly wastewater treatment, solid waste valorisation, and the purification of gaseous effluents through sustainable biotechnological processes.

The Galician researcher, who appears in the World’s Top 2% Scientist List published by Stanford University — a list recognising the world’s most influential scientists — expressed her satisfaction to CICA upon receiving the award: “for me, this prize represents recognition of a professional career dedicated to developing advanced environmental biotechnology processes. My work focuses on the valorisation of pollutants present in water, gases and waste through biorefinery.”

Also affiliated with CICA is researcher Francisco J. Blanco, who received the Ángeles Alvariño González Medal in the RAGC’s Biology and Health Sciences section. Blanco is Professor of Rheumatology at the University of A Coruña, Head of the Clinical and Translational Rheumatology Section at CHUAC, and a prominent figure in Spanish medicine, as well as an international reference in the field of rheumatology. He leads the Rheumatology Research Group (GIR-S) at CICA, which has secured more than 10 million euros in funding over the past five years, participates in more than 100 projects, and was recognised in 2017 as the world’s leading researcher in arthritis.

He is currently promoting the application of advanced computational technologies related to Big Data and artificial intelligence to personalise the diagnosis and treatment of rheumatic diseases, anticipate their progression, and optimise possible therapeutic interventions.

Meanwhile, CITIC researcher Nieves Rodríguez, Professor in the area of Languages and Computer Systems, received the Enrique Vidal Abascal Medal in the Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science section. Rodríguez, a leading female figure in the STEM field, has more than 30 years of research experience focused on developing compact algorithms and data structures for processing large volumes of information. In 1996, she founded the Database Laboratory at the University of A Coruña, from which she also promoted a line of work in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

The group of awardees is completed by Juan María Pou Saracho, Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Vigo, who received the Isidro Parga Pondal Medal in the Technical Sciences section; and Laura Carballo, Professor of Private International Law at the University of Vigo and Dean of the Faculty of International Relations, who was recognised with the Domingo García-Sabell Rivas Medal for her work improving the conditions of people working in the maritime sector.

The awards ceremony took place during the academic event for the celebration of the Day of Science in Galicia, held on 8 October in Santiago de Compostela.