Margarita Salas: famous inventor and biotechnology pioneer in Spain

The death of Margarita Salas, on November 7, fell like a blow to science in Spain.

Margarita Salas, one of the most relevant Spanish scientists, contributed significantly to advances in the field of molecular biology by promoting research in Spain and abroad.

Throughout his life she had numerous awards. One of the most recent was the "European Inventor Award 2019" promoted by the European Patent Office, which was received last June, in the categories "Achievements of a lifetime" and "Popular Award".

These awards represent an international recognition of the research work that this Asturian woman developed during her professional career, in different institutions of recognized prestige, in the field of genetics and molecular biology. In the course of her research years, she discovered the enzyme DNA polymerase, which allows the DNA to be amplified quickly and reliably. Thanks to her, today we have a tool that allows the reproduction of DNA from very small samples so that they can be analyzed, sequenced and studied. In addition, this technique is also used in forensic, criminological and paleontological studies.

It is precisely on the basis of these studies that the most profitable patent in the history of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) emerged: patent ES2103741T “DNA synthesis reactions (in vitro) using modified Phi 29 DNA polymerase and a DNA fragment encoding said polymerase”.

Among many other awards, Margarita Salas was named European Researcher 1999 by Unesco, Research Prize Rey Jaime I in 1994, the first woman scientist member of the Royal Spanish Academy, member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, the American Society for Microbiology and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as an honorary doctorate from several of the most prestigious universities in our country.

She also starred in one of the panels of the 2018 Women Inventors Exhibition organized by the SPTO last year, on the occasion of Intellectual and Industrial Property Day and also one of the entries recently published in our blog.

Margarita Salas, unstoppable and tireless scientist, did not stop working until the end of her career at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). Here a little recognition of the SPTO.