Three University of Barcelona researchers receive the 2025 National Research Awards
The University of Barcelona (UB) has played a leading role in the 2025 National Research Awards, with three of its researchers being recognised: Carme Rovira Virgili, Montserrat Guillén Estany and Marta Sánchez de la Torre. The awards, granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, were presented on 4 May at the Palau Reial de Pedralbes, in a ceremony that highlights the excellence and impact of research at the national level.
The National Research Awards are the highest institutional recognition for research in Spain and honour scientific careers of international relevance, as well as outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge and societal progress.
Among the awardees, Dr Montserrat Guillén Estany stands out, Full Professor at the Department of Econometrics, Statistics and Applied Economics at the Faculty of Economics and Business, and director of the Risk Center Research Group.
Guillén has been awarded the National Research Award “Pascual Madoz” in the field of law and social and economic sciences «for being a pioneering figure and an international reference in risk economics and actuarial science, with a highly impactful academic and scientific career, and work that is profoundly transforming risk analysis and insurance economics in the 21st century».
An example of this impact is the predictive model developed during the COVID-19 pandemic by Dr Guillén and Dr Catalina Bolancé, which made it possible to anticipate hospital occupancy in Catalonia and support decision-making to prevent the saturation of the healthcare system. This work illustrates the potential of social sciences research to generate useful tools for managing complex situations.
Interview with Dr Montserrat Guillén and Dr Catalina Bolancé:
“Our predictive model helped prevent the saturation of hospitals in Catalonia”
Other UB researchers recognised
In the same edition, Professor Carme Rovira Virgili, from the Faculty of Chemistry, received the National Research Award “Enrique Moles” in the field of chemical science and technology, becoming the first woman to receive this distinction. Her research in computational chemistry applied to enzymes of biomedical and biotechnological interest has contributed to identifying key molecular mechanisms in glycobiology.
Regarding the National Research Awards for Young Researchers, Professor Marta Sánchez de la Torre, from the Faculty of Geography and History and member of the UB Institute of Archaeology (IAUB), has been recognised in the humanities category for her career in prehistoric archaeology and her leadership in international projects applying innovative methodologies.
From the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG), the University of Barcelona’s Knowledge Transfer Office, we celebrate these recognitions, which highlight the quality and impact of the research carried out at the University of Barcelona across multiple fields of knowledge, as well as its ability to generate knowledge with real-world applications and contribute to social and economic progress.