María J. Blanco-Prieto

María J. Blanco-Prieto is a Full Professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Navarra, Spain, where she has served since 2014 after previously working as a Research Scientist and Associated Professor from 1999 to 2014. Her academic journey includes a Pharmacy Degree from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Paris-Sud (France), and post-doctoral training at ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

Professor Blanco-Prieto's research program focuses on innovative drug delivery systems with applications across multiple therapeutic areas. Her work spans Parkinson's disease treatment (brain repair), cardiac repair after myocardial infarction, pediatric cancer nanomedicine, and tissue engineering. From 2006 to 2013, she directed the research line on 'Nanotechnologies and Drug Delivery Systems' at the University of Navarra, establishing herself as a leader in pharmaceutical nanotechnology.

With over 160 research papers and book chapters (accumulating more than 8,650 citations with an H-index of 51), 5 editorials, 5 patents, and over 180 conference presentations, her scholarly output demonstrates significant impact in pharmaceutical sciences. Her publications reveal a consistent trend toward developing nanotechnology-based solutions for challenging medical conditions, particularly in neurological disorders and cancer treatment, with increasing focus on translational applications.

• UPSA Laboratory award (1994)
• Thesis Award of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences from the French National Academy of Pharmacy (1996)
• Graduate Student Award from The Nagai Foundation Tokyo (1996)
• Paul Neumann Award/APGI (1997)
• Eduardo Ortiz de Landázuri Prize (2004, 2009)
• IV and VII research prizes of SEFIG (2013, 2019)
• AECC award (2014)
• Yuzz Santander Banque Programm (2016)
• I prize SciencEkaitza, Project NanoCancer (2018)
• Foreign member of the National Academy of Pharmacy of France (2017)
• President of SEFIG (2020)
• Vice-president of EUFEPS Executive Committee (2021)
• Member of AIMBE College of Fellows (2022)

Professor Blanco-Prieto serves as a referee for over 70 journals and has evaluated research proposals for numerous national and international funding agencies including the European Commission, various national ministries of research, and prestigious organizations like the Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society. She is Project Technical Adviser for the European Commission (Nanomedecine Subprogramme) and has secured significant research funding for her innovative work in drug delivery systems. As President of SEFIG since 2020 (previously Vice President from 2014-2018), she plays a pivotal role in shaping pharmaceutical sciences in Spain.

She leads a research group focused on nanotechnology applications in medicine, particularly in developing innovative drug delivery systems for challenging therapeutic areas. Her laboratory bridges pharmaceutical technology with clinical applications, creating translational research that addresses significant unmet medical needs, with particular emphasis on brain repair mechanisms and targeted cancer therapies.