Fañanás Saura, Lourdes

Lourdes Fañanás Saura has a Bachelors Degree and a PhD in Biology from the University of Barcelona and graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She is currently a Full Professor at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona. During her post-doctoral period, she spent several stays as Invited Academic and Research Visitor at the Institute Of Psychiatry of London (IoP) (1993-1995). In 1996-97, she received accreditation as Honorary Senior Lecturer from this Institution.

Currently, in addition to teaching in the Biomedical Sciences Degree at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, she participates in different Official Interuniversity Masters (Master in Biological Anthropology UB-UAB, Master in Neuroscience UB-UPF-URV-UdL and Masters in Initiation into Research in Mental Health UC-UB-UAB-UCM-UCA.

Her research work has focused on the study of genetic and environmental factors involved in human cognitive functions and in the origin of schizophrenia and other severe mental disorders. Over the last few years, her working group has been devoted to the research of neurobiological mechanisms involved in the relationship between early childhood environment, abuse and mental illness.

During her professional career, Lourdes Fañanás has directed sixteen Doctoral Thesis projects, some of which received recognition from the scientific community through the Doctorate Extraordinary Awards of their year and the accreditation of International or European Thesis.

This research work, and that of training young researchers, has been possible thanks to the recognition and uninterrupted support of her working group as Quality Research Group, both from Catalan institutions (SGR Group of the Catalan Government and Biomedicine Institute Group of the University of Barcelona) and Spanish ones (Group of the Network Centre for Biomedical Research in Mental Health).

Dr Lourdes Fañanás has spent all these years in the dissemination of science, with a special preference for education about mental functions of the human brain and against the stigmatisation of mental illness in our society. She is a lover of art and architecture.

The work of Professor Fañanás has been recognised with the following awards: NAMI and STANLEY Foundation Research Award (USA) 1997-1999; NARSAD Independent Investigator Award (USA) 2008-2010; CIBERSAM 2009 -PRIZE: “Intensification for Researchers CIBERSAM 2009”; NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award (USA) 2018-2020; PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING, awarded by the students of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, class of 2018-2019; PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING, awarded by the students of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona, class of 2019-2020.

Lourdes Fañanás was chosen Corresponding Member of Jakiunde (Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters), on 12 November 2021.