Enrique de Álava
He graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Navarra in 1988. He specialised in Pathological Anatomy in 1993, after his residence in the Clinical University of Navarra. He qualified as a Doctor in Medicine and Surgery also at the University of Navarra in 1993. His post-doctorate training was in the Department of Pathology of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of New York (1994-1996) thanks to a Fulbright post-doctorate scholarship.
In 2003 he passed exams to become a Scientific Researcher of the CSIC and was incorporated into the Centre of Investigation of Cancer of Salamanca as the main Researcher of the laboratory of Molecular Pathology, and as coordinator of the Bank of Tumours of that Centre. Today he is part of the national coordination team for the program of Banks of Tumours of the Net of Cancer in the Institute of Health Carlos III - (RTICC). He is Subdirector Scientist of the National Bank of DNA, in which organisation he coordinates the node of oncological illnesses.
He chairs the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Society of Pathological Anatomy. His subject of investigation is the Molecular Pathology of sarcomas, for which he has funding from the European Commission (Net of excellence EuroBoNet), the Institute of Health Carlos III, the Foundation Ramón Areces and the Foundation Marcelino Booty. In the European Net EuroBoNet, he is coordinator of the group working on the biology of the Ewing tumour, a musculoskeletal tumour of infants and adolescents, as the platform for work in proteomics of sarcomas.
His aims of investigation are the research and validation of new therapeutic targets, the mechanisms of sarcomagenesis, and the validation of new developments in applicable diagnostics, in the field of the hospital routine. In June of 2007 he qualified as University teaching Professor in the field of Pathological Anatomy. He directs a Doctorate course in Molecular Pathology of sarcomas in the University of Salamanca.
Lines of investigation
The importance of sarcomas: In spite of the prevalence of these neoplasias, his study has revealed a wealth of molecular information that we are only now beginning to understand.
The presence of characteristic molecular alterations for each type of tumour, in addition to being useful for diagnosis, has clear prognosis information, helping us to understand the patogenia of the tumours mesenchymales and childhood cancer.