Araceli Díaz-Perales, researcher at CBGP (UPM-INIA) and Miguel Holgado, researcher at CTB will jointly give the master lesson in the Solemn Academic Act of Santo Tomás de Aquino of UPM

The lesson talk title will be: "COVID 19: A master Lesson on science and technology"

Currently, the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus causing COVID19 disease is responsible of more than 95 million confirmed cases worldwide, with more than 2 million deaths. The coronavirus pandemic is being a painful experience and has opened a debate on how human beings are relating with their natural environment and about what are the new technological challenges that we are going to face. More than ever, we need science commitment to provide solution to society challenges and we need to put science as one of pillars to face these challenges. Society and institutions must commit to fight misinformation, and strength the dissemination of knowledge based on objective and demonstrable facts. In the lecture, the researchers and professors of the UPM will address how society is facing the COVID19 disease, the knowledge we have about it, the technological challenges to be developed and how the UPM is contribute to these challenges. In this direction, the speakers lead a UPM pilot program for serological diagnosis of COVID19 applying technologies developed by CBGP (UPM-INIA) and CTB centers.

The development of the act and the broadcast of the event can be followed at this link.

Araceli Díaz-Perales is Associate Professor of the Department of Biotechnology-Plant Biology of the school of Ingeniería Agronómica Alimentaria y de Biosistemas of the UPM. She is the Coordinator of the Health Biotech specialization of the UPM Biotechnology Bachelor. At the CBGP (UPM-INIA) Dr. Diaz-Perales leads the Plant Allergens research group.

Miguel Holgado Bolaños is Associate Professor of the Departament of Aplied Physics and Material Enginnering of Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales. He is Director and principal investigator (PI) of the lab and group of Optics, Photonics and Biophotonics of Centro de Tecnología Biomédica. He is PI of “Grupo de ingeniería de tejidos en chips y sistemas de detección In-Vitro” of the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Hospital Cínico San Carlos (UPM-IDISSC), and TASKFORCE member of COVID19 in this hospital.

About CBGP

The Centre for Plant Genomics and Biotechnology (CBGP) is a joint research institute UPM / INIA whose mission is to carry out fundamental and strategic research in plant science and associated microorganisms. In particular, research lines are focused on the study of plant development, their nutritional mechanisms and their interaction with the environment. The knowledge acquired is used to address the main problems of agriculture and forestry today, as well as to develop new technological solutions.

CBGP was created with a double goal: to carry out the most advanced research aimed at understanding plant function, and to contribute to fulfil the needs of the economic agents within the agriculture, forestry and environment productive sectors that are potential users of this research. CBGP also seeks to have an educational role and strives to become a reference centre for training of both scientists and technicians in the fields of plant biotechnology and genomics, an area not fully developed in Spain at present. The CBGP (UPM-INIA) has been recognized by the Spanish Research Agency as a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence, the highest institutional recognition of excellence in scientific research in Spain.

The CBGP develops 2 COVID research projects led by Dr. Díaz-Perales and Dr. Fernando Ponz.