Study in Spain

【The Complutense University Celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science】

On 11 February, four faculties of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) took part in the celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2026. A significant part of the activities organised by the Faculties of Chemical Sciences and Biological Sciences focused on the fight against cancer. Meanwhile, the Faculty of Philology addressed the orthographic reform proposed by Agustina González, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine created a collaborative mural using post-it notes and participated in an interuniversity round table held at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).

The Dean of the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Benito Muñoz Araujo, welcomed high school students attending the event UCM Women Scientists Against Cancer, organised by the Scientific Culture Unit of the Knowledge Transfer Office (OTC) of UCM in collaboration with the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).

During the event, Muñoz Araujo encouraged students—particularly female students—to pursue their scientific vocation. He highlighted that the incorporation of women into research is already a reality in the Faculty of Biological Sciences: of the approximately 2,000 undergraduate students enrolled, one third are women, while women represent 60% of postgraduate students. This figure decreases slightly among teaching staff, where there is near parity, with women accounting for 51%, and increases at the management level, as—with the exception of the dean—the four departments are headed by women, who also form the majority of the dean’s team.

Mercedes Taravillo, Director of the OTC (formerly known as OTRI), recalled that the United Nations established the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2015, and that activities have been organised at UCM since 2019. According to Taravillo, the inclusion of girls in this celebration aims to encourage scientific vocations and create female role models—an objective that the Complutense University works towards on a daily basis and one she expressed particular pride in.

The Spanish Association Against Cancer was represented by Ana Alcalde, from the Volunteer Department, who explained that in Madrid alone the organisation has 4,000 volunteers who accompany cancer patients with the aim of making their lives easier. Alcalde pointed out that the AECC is the private organisation that invests the most in the fight against cancer in Spain, supporting projects ranging from small-scale initiatives to major international programmes involving more than 300 people.

Thanks to one of the AECC’s grants, Marta Herrero, a researcher in training in the Lymphocyte Immunology Research Group at the Faculty of Medicine of UCM, is able to pursue her doctoral studies. Alongside her, María Salazar Roa, Associate Professor at UCM and Head of the Cancer STEM Lab, and Cristina Aragoneses, a researcher in training in the Haematological Tumours Research Group, collaborating with the National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), 12 de Octubre Hospital, and the Complutense University of Madrid, shared their professional journeys from their time as students to their current research positions.

All three presented themselves to the high school students as role models in the research profession, which, while highly demanding, is also deeply rewarding—particularly when focused on tackling a disease (or rather, more than 200 diseases grouped under the term cancer) that represents the world’s most significant socio-health challenge and is expected to affect half of the male population and one third of women worldwide by 2030.

Conference at the Faculty of Chemical Sciences

As part of the celebrations, the Faculty of Chemical Sciences invited Ana Ramírez de Molina, Director of IMDEA Nutrition, to give a lecture. Following an introduction by the Dean, Mayte Villalba, the head of one of Madrid’s six Advanced Research Institutes reviewed her research career, from graduating in Chemistry with a specialisation in Biochemistry at UCM to establishing her own Molecular Oncology research group.

Through this group, she has developed innovative initiatives such as the Precision Nutrition and Cancer Laboratory and the mHealth ALIBIRD Platform, both of which are already having a positive clinical impact and achieving high levels of patient satisfaction. She also discussed her involvement in numerous other projects, including the creation of several start-ups linked to the fields of nutrition and health.

Ramírez de Molina—who served as Deputy Director General for Universities, Research and Science of the Community of Madrid from 2023 until December 2025, when she returned to her previous position at the head of IMDEA Nutrition—used her talk to underline the lessons learned at each stage of her professional career. She highlighted the often unseen impact of laboratory research on future clinical applications, the indispensable role of interdisciplinary collaboration, and the importance of securing intellectual property to attract future investment and ensure long-term viability.

Throughout her career, she has integrated these principles with a constant focus on identifying lipid metabolism biomarkers and their application in oncology. As she noted, her work has always been guided by curiosity, a willingness to explore new paths and move away from established ones, and a commitment to collaboration as a means of expanding knowledge. “I am proud to belong to a community—the scientific community—with the capacity to bring about transformation,” she concluded.

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