Prof. Laura Lechuga has been conferred a PRAN Award for a project on diagnostic technologies for bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance. The awarded projects were announced early this year.
The 2021 National Plan Against Antibiotic Resistance (PRAN) Awards by the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) were conferred this morning in a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Health, in Madrid. ICN2 group leader Prof. Laura Lechuga collected the award for the project “New comprehensive and disruptive diagnostic technologies for the fight against bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance”, which she is developing with her team (NanoBiosensors and Bioanalytical Applications Group). It is one of the nine projects selected out of the 82 submitted, as announced in March this year.
The ceremony took place today, November 18, on the occasion of the European Day for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics. Celebrated every year since 2008, this is an initiative of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) that aims to raise awareness of the risks associated with the misuse of antibiotics and to call for responsible consumption, both in human and animal health, to prevent the emergence and development of antimicrobial resistance.
The event was introduced by Spanish Minister of Health Dr Carolina Darias and chaired by AEMPS Director María Jesús Lamas. After an open debate moderated by science communicator Dr Marián García, the PRAN Awards were conferred to the awardees by Secretary of State Dr Silvia Calzón. The ceremony was live streamed on Youtube. The video recording is available here.