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Science for Sapiens A year in research (2024)
Guillermina

López Bendito

Rei Jaume I Award in

Medical Research

ow are the senses formed? The jury
of the Rei Jaume I Awards has announ-
ced the 2023 winners, among which is
the researcher of the Institute for Neu-
rosciences, mixed centre of the Univer-
sity Miguel Hernández (UMH) of Elche
and the Superior Council of Scientific
H Research (CSIC), Guillermina López
Bendito. Specifically, López Bendito has been awarded in
Medical Research. Throughout her career, the neuroscien-
tist has studied the structures of the brain where sensory
information is interpreted, even before birth.

The jury has awarded her the Basic Research Award for her
study of the processes underlying the formation of neural
connections, where she proves that they are fundamental
to normal brain function. Her work has shed light on the
complex interactions between the sensory signals received
by neurons and the molecules that are released, and the Guillermina López-Bendito in her laboratory at the Institute of Neurosciences
UMH-CSIC (Alicante, Spain) Source: CSIC.es
role of spontaneous brain activity in forming cortical maps.
She is at the forefront of her field, as evidenced by the in-
Guillermina López Bendito is a PhD in Neurosciences from ternational repercussions of her results and the unique im-
the UMH and a researcher specialising in the field of Neu- plementation of new technologies, which has resulted in
rosciences. She studies the formation and plasticity of brain publications and also in invitations to join societies, evalua-
circuits during embryonic and postnatal development. Her tion committees, editorial boards, as well as in the organisa-
work has had a profound impact on the way we understand tion of congresses and the delivery of talks in international
how defects in neural network assembly lead to adaptive forums and universities. Since 2008, she directs the Labo-
plasticity and/or neurological disorders. Her research has ratory for “Development, Plasticity and Reprogramming of
as long-term aspiration to repair defective neural connec- Sensory Circuits” at the Institute for Neurosciences, recog-
tions in patients with sensory defects such as blindness. nised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence.

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