Prize Winners

Curriculum Vitae

Doctor of Medicine. Jiménez Díaz Foundation.

Jury ruling

The jury for the Rei Jaume I Prize for Clinical Medicine, meeting in Altea (Alicante), has unanimously decided to award the 2000 prize to Mr Justo J. García Yébenes.

This is in recognition of his having dedicated his career to the study of neurological diseases, addressing significant issues from the perspectives of both biology and clinical diagnosis and treatment. To this end, he has analysed the role of brain neurotransmitters in the pathogenesis of basal ganglia disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, dystonias and others; he has also investigated the role of neurotransmitters and pharmacological agents, such as botulinum toxin, in the treatment of Parkinson’s-like diseases and other disorders. He has also established a tissue bank for neurological research which supplies material to 16 research groups in Spain, and has studied families of patients, enabling the identification of mutations in several genes of great clinical importance, such as those associated with Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

He is awarded this prize for his contributions to a better understanding and treatment of neurological diseases.