Remembering Federico Mayor Zaragoza and Joan J. Guinovart
The SEBBM Journal is a channel for analysis, reflection and dissemination of scientific activity in Spain and of public and private research policies. Its origins date back to 1963 and it currently publishes thematic issues covering transversal research in the field of biochemistry and molecular biology.
The current special issue no. 224, May 2025, is dedicated to Prof. Federico Mayor Zaragoza and Prof. Joan J. Guinovart i Cirera, who sadly left us at the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, respectively. Two presidents of the SEBBM who led our Society in two different – and not at all easy –contexts, but who with their vision, tenacity and good work led it brilliantly.
The SEBBM has wanted to pay tribute to those whom it owes so much to. This special issue – through fifteen articles – aims to give a broad overview of their respective contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge, to education, to the configuration of the political space dedicated to science, and to society, both in Spain and beyond our borders. The special issue also includes profiles by the former SEBBM presidents.
The article authors maintained a close relationship with the presidents, so they share details and testimonies beyond the succinct description of their contributions. The issue has been coordinated by Carmen Aragón, Joaquim Ros, and Inmaculada Yruela, SEBBM members and collaborators of the SEBBM Journal.
Prof. Federico Mayor Zaragoza and Prof. Joan J. Guinovart were not only two giants of biochemistry, they were also two exceptional members of the SEBBM, as well as two unwavering humanists, defenders of human rights and dignity, and of peace. Two human role models to be copied for their kindness and generosity. Undoubtedly, the Spanish and international scientific community are indebted to their dedication and the extraordinary achievements they made in their different fields. SEBBM, and our society as a whole, is indebted to them – a thousand thanks for your teachings, values, and enormous legacy!
The issue is available at https://sebbm.es/revista/numeros/federico-mayor-zaragoza-y-joan-j-guinovart-un-legado-cientifico-personal-y-humano/
Part of this post is a translation of texts written in Spanish by Antonio Ferrer, President of SEBBM and Inmaculada Yruela, editor-in chief of SEBBM Journal, and published on the SEBBM website on May, 2025.
https://sebbm.es/revista/tribuna/la-deuda-de-la-sebbm/
https://sebbm.es/revista/editorial/mirando-al-futuro/
Top image from the SEBBM Journal.
Dr. Inmaculada Yruela graduated and earned her doctorate in Chemistry at the University of Sevilla (Spain). She has been a visiting guest scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany) and at Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Indiana University School of Medicine (USA). She is research scientist at the CSIC and group leader at Computational and Structural Biology in Estación Experimental de Aula (CSIC), Zaragoza (Spain). From the early 1990s she has been studying the relationship between the structure and function of redox protein complexes involved in photosynthesis (I.e. PSII, cytochromes) among other, and more recently the role of intrinsic ductiliity and plasticity of proteins in organismal complexity, multicellularity and evolution. She has led science outreach projects. She is currently member of SEBBM and editor-in chief of SEBBM Journal.
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