The former IQAC researcher Silvia Panarello, who obtained her PhD in 2021 in the Medicinal Chemistry and Synthesis group, has received the Honorable Mention at Doctors’ Senate Award for her thesis research titled “Photoswitchable allosteric ligands to modulate metabotropic glutamate receptors“, supervised by Amadeu Llebaria and Xavier Gómez-Santacana. Her work focused on the design of photoswitchable molecules to develop future “smart drugs” to be used in combination with light for the treatment of blindness, chronic pain, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
“I am really happy to have had the opportunity to do not only research in chemistry, but also in the field of biology, thus expanding my knowledge in photochemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology. My work was developed at IQAC-CSIC, at the Institute of Functional Genomics, in Montpellier, and at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. I am very thankful to have worked together with top-level researchers, such as professors Amadeu Llebaria, Jean-Philippe Pin or Martin Lohse”, explains Silvia Panarello
She is currently working as an Account Manager at Enantia, a CRO providing R&D services in Medicinal Chemistry, Process Chemistry and Solid State Chemistry, using her technical expertise identifying new project opportunities in pharmaceutical and biotechnological R&D, monitoring the start, progress and completion of R&D projects, elaborating client-focused solutions and proposals and attending events and fairs in the sector.
The call of these awards received 202 submissions to the Doctors’ Senate Award, many of them recognised by the tribunals with the extraordinary award, since these are high-quality research studies.
From left to right: Xavier Gómez-Santacana, Silvia Panarello and Amadeu Llebaria / UB
