At only 25 years old, Emma Puighermanal signed as first author in Nature Neuroscience the article that has obtained the twelfth Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award. He was part of the team at the Neuropharmacology Laboratory at Pompeu Fabra University that discovered the connection between cannabis and memory loss. Her article Cannabinoid modulation of hippocampal long-term memory is mediated by mTOR signaling has been, according to the international jury of this award, the best pharmacology work published by a Spanish author between 2008 and 2009.
Research shows that the amnesic effects produced by cannabinoids involve an intracellular signalling pathway called mTOR, which acts in the brain in the hippocampal area, the region associated with the control of cognitive responses. The research is a starting point for developing new therapeutic strategies that can prevent some of the most negative consequences of marijuana use.
On July 6, 2011, they received the Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award from their director and the Vice-Rector for Teaching and Academic Planning of the Pompeu Fabra University.
This has been the closest edition of the Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award, with a total of 84 articles presented. The jury of the award also wanted to highlight the following three works with an honorable mention:
Identification of a serotonin/glutamate receptor complex implicated in psychosis. Nature. 2008 Mar 6; 452(7183):93-7
Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells. J Clin Invest. 2009; 119(5):1359–1372
Discovery of novel non-cyclam polynitrogenated CXCR4 coreceptor inhibitors. ChemMedChem. 2008 Oct; 3(10):1549-57.
The Dr. Antoni Esteve Foundation Research Award, endowed with €18,000, is awarded every two years to the best pharmacological research work in any of its aspects (design, synthesis, galenic development, clinical or laboratory evaluation, use, etc.) published in any scientific journal by a Spanish author during the previous two years.
KEYWORDS | Basic pharmacology, addiction, research award