Research Keywords: Adipocytes; Biomarkers; Breast Cancer; Estradiol; Estrogen Receptor; Estrogen-dependent Cancers; Estrogens; Estrone; HSD17b Enzymes; Inflammation; Menopause; Obesity; Prognostic Markers

Biography: Manuel Picón Ruiz conducted his PhD at the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain, successfully defending his thesis work in November 2012. After that, Dr. Picón moved to the Sylvester ... [+]

Biography: Manuel Picón Ruiz conducted his PhD at the University of Granada (UGR) in Spain, successfully defending his thesis work in November 2012. After that, Dr. Picón moved to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center of the UM (USA), first as Postdoctoral Associate Researcher and then as Assistant Scientist. During his postdoctoral stage, Dr. Picón was awarded with a Susan G. Komen award in the role of Principal Investigator (PI), a grant intended to form outstanding postdoctoral researchers to become the next generation leaders in the field of breast cancer. In this sense, Dr. Picón participated in the publication of a Review article as first author in the top ranked journal in oncology (IF=244.585), which served as cover page and was classified as "Continuing Medical Education" and "Continuing Nursing Education" by the American Cancer Society. Furthermore, he co-directed a group of 15 researchers for the elaboration of a research article recently published in the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism. Results presented in this publication were developed based on the first hypothesis proposed by Dr. Picón as PI. In brief, this work set a new paradigm in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer biology, demonstrating for the first time the key role that estrone plays in the development and progression of this disease. All this demonstrates the leadership capabilities of Dr. Picón and his potential to become a referent in the field of breast cancer research. Until date, Dr. Picón has conducted his research career in a total of 5 international research centers from three different countries (Spain, UK and USA), has obtained 10 competitive fellowships, including the prestigious Ramón y Cajal, and has participated in 19 national and international research projects (7 as PI). He has authored 19 papers in scientific journals, 16 of them included in first quartile journals; and 7 as first, last or corresponding author. He has an H-index of 16 and an i-10 index of 18, with a total of more than two thousand three hundred citations. Furthermore, he has published 4 book chapters in prestigious publishers; has participated in a considerable number of congress/symposium with close to 40 communications and 3 first prizes; and has also participated in the development of an international patent. In addition, he has served as reviewer for five different Q1 journals and project evaluator for the State Research Agency (AEI). In September 2019, Dr. Picón moved back to the UGR as Marie Curie fellow. To date, he is leading a research group within Dr. Marchal´s lab, composed by two PhD students and several lab members and collaborators, such as clinicians, bioinformaticians, gene editing´ experts and experts in drug discovery. Importantly, as PI at the UGR he has been funded with over half million € from 4 different grants; and has obtained the Ramón y Cajal fellowship. These achievements further demonstrate the potential leadership capabilities of Dr. Picón. Regarding to his teaching activity, Dr. Picón is accredited as Professor by the ANECA. During his pre- and postdoctoral trainee, he has been novice professor in the degree of Medicine at the UGR; has participated in teaching undergraduate and PhD students at the UM, and as invited professor for Master and PhD programs at the UGR. Since 2019, he has acted as professor at the Department of Human Anatomy and Embryology (Faculty of Medicine, UGR), becoming associate professor in June 2022. As associate professor, he has been rated with 4.65/5 by the students, which is an outstanding score. He is also serving as supervisor for Master degree and PhD students. In this regards, Dr. Picón has successfully directed 1 Final Year Project in the degree of Medicine and 8 Final Master Works at the UGR (two with Honors qualification). Moreover, he has co-authored 4 Anatomy Books for Medical Students, has been Final Project Committee Member for a total of 3 Commissions, Master Thesis Committee Member for a total of 5 Commissions and has also participated as Doctoral Committee Member in 2 Dissertation Committees. [-]