Prize Winners

Curriculum Vitae

PhD in Immunology. Head of the Department of Immunology and Oncology. National Centre for Biotechnology. CSIC

Jury ruling

The jury for the Rei Jaume I Prizes for Basic Research, meeting in Alicante, has unanimously decided to award the 2003 prize to Mr Carlos Martínez Alonso.

For his numerous and significant contributions to the field of immunology and, more generally, to cell biology. He established the mechanism by which T lymphocytes activate B lymphocytes, a key observation in the relationship between the two branches of immune function. He described the role of interleukins as well as the signalling pathways induced by chemotactic agents. His laboratory contributed to elucidating the mechanism of T-cell polarisation during their migration towards invading pathogens in response to chemotactic signals. There is a considerable redistribution of molecules between the leading and trailing edges of cell movement.