Benidorm will award the ‘Europe Distinction’ to researcher Juan Carlos Izpisúa on Wednesday
The scientist, based in the United States and closely linked to our city, will give a lecture on aging and rejuvenation during the event
The ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. in the City Hall's Plenary Hall
Benidorm City Council will present the ‘Europe Distinction’ to researcher Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte this coming Wednesday, August 12th. This award follows a unanimous decision by the Board of Spokespersons last April, which endorsed a proposal by Mayor Toni Pérez. The proposal recognises Izpisúa as a “global leader in regenerative biology and advanced medicine.” The ‘Europe Distinction’ is an award granted by the City Council to individuals, institutions, or organisations distinguished for their contribution to the cohesion of the continent.
The ceremony will take place on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. in the City Hall's Plenary Hall. During the event, the honoree will give a short lecture on ageing and rejuvenation, a subject he has dedicated himself to for many years. In his presentation, the scientist will discuss, among other topics, the difference between living longer and living those years in good health, and what science is beginning to discover about this.
Juan Carlos Izpisúa was born in Hellín in 1960 and moved to Benidorm at a young age seeking employment. He worked in a wide variety of hospitality services and became so integrated into the city that he even played for Benidorm Club Deportivo in the late 1970s. Then he moved to Valencia, where he graduated with a degree in Pharmacy in 1985, receiving the Extraordinary Prize, thus beginning a brilliant scientific career, as stated in the approved motion.
He subsequently earned a doctorate in Biochemistry and Pharmacology from the universities of Valencia and Bologna (Italy). Following this, he completed postdoctoral fellowships at the universities of Marburg (Germany) and UCLA in California (United States), as well as at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg (Germany). Izpisúa has been a professor—a full professor of Developmental Biology—at UCAM Murcia and the University of California, San Diego, as well as a visiting professor at University College London and the University of Oxford.
For three decades, Juan Carlos Izpisúa was a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, eventually becoming a full professor in the Gene Expression Laboratory and holding the Roger Guillemin Chair. From 2005 to 2013, he combined this role with directing the Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona and conducted research with both institutions in collaboration with universities in Europe, America, and Asia.
He currently directs the San Diego Division of Altos Labs, a science institute focused on regenerative medicine. His research team works on cell regeneration, organ rejuvenation, and extending healthy lifespan. His work is crucial for understanding the fundamental genetic and cellular principles that regulate vertebrate development and the regeneration of tissues and organs. He is the author of more than 500 scientific articles and research papers in these fields, with over a hundred of them published in Cell, Nature, and Science, accumulating more than 26,000 citations in publications.
The motion supported by the Board of Spokespersons also notes that Juan Carlos Izpisúa “never forgets his homeland or his origins, and family visits to Spain are frequent; to his native Hellín and to Benidorm,” a city to which his wife, Concepción Rodríguez Esteban, also a researcher, has strong family ties and deep roots.