Joan J. Guinovart awarded with the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia Prize

Joan J. Guinovart was awarded XXII Prize from the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia in recognition of his significant contribution to the field of pharmacy in Catalonia, as well as in Spain and the rest of the world.

The jury considered Guinovart to be a leader in Spanish biochemistry and highlighted his efforts to further the interests of Spanish and Catalan researchers. Joan J. Guinovart received the award during the opening ceremony of the academic year organised by Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia this afternoon at its headquarters in Barcelona.

“I consider myself very honoured with this award that recognizes my career as a pharmacist. In fact, IRB Barcelona is very pharmaceutical, in the sense that the research we do contributes to the development of new drugs, "said Joan J. Guinovart.

Guinovart served as the first director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) (2005- May 2018) and is the group leader of the Metabolic Engineering and Diabetes Therapy lab at the same institute. His research interests focus on glycogen metabolism, with a special emphasis on its alterations in diabetes and Lafora disease. He has published over 170 articles on the subject and mentored more than 40 graduate students and postdocs.

He holds a number of prestigious awards including the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) Diplôme d’honneur and the St. George’s Cross of the Government of Catalonia. He also holds an honorary doctorate from the Andres Bello University (Santiago, Chile).