Professor Javier Quesada, on behalf of the Fundación Valenciana Premios Rei Jaume I, wishes to express his condolences and sorrow at the passing of Rafael Carmena Rodríguez, winner of the 2002 Rei Jaume I Prize for Clinical Medicine.

Professor Carmena received this prize “in recognition of his achievements in clinical care, teaching and research throughout his professional career. Both nationally and internationally, his work on the risk factors associated with atherosclerosis is widely recognised”, stated the jury that awarded him this honour.

Dr Carmena has devoted himself to the study of obesity, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia from a clinical perspective, as well as to basic research into genetics and molecular biology; his contributions have had a wide-reaching impact in the field of public health. A professor of internal medicine and endocrinology at the Universities of Murcia and Valencia, he was also a fellow of the Royal Academies of Medicine in both cities, as well as a member of 12 scientific societies. He had more than 200 research papers published in the world’s most prestigious journals. He was also a scientific adviser to the ‘Príncipe Felipe’ Science Museum in Valencia.