Dr. José Antonio López
José Antonio López Guerrero, Professor of Microbiology at the Autonomous University of Madrid and Numerary Member of the Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), delivered on 13 November the second lecture of the cycle “La uni en el barrio”, organised by the Scientific Culture Unit of the Autonomous University of Madrid with the aim of bringing key scientific topics, from a clearly outreach-oriented perspective, to the general public by taking the conferences to different neighbourhoods of Madrid. On this occasion, the event was held at the San Fermín Municipal Public Library in the district of Usera, where the speaker presented the talk “Why Are Vaccines So Important?”.
“Alongside the invention of the wheel or water purification, no human milestone has been more important in increasing life expectancy and progress than vaccines. The fact that denialists are now debating whether they are necessary or not is precisely because we no longer have to worry about seeing people around us die from measles, suffer paralysing bulbar poliomyelitis, develop cancer caused by human papillomavirus, or, for example, die from tuberculosis. We enjoy a better quality of life and, with it, more free time to speculate about conspiracy theories,” the academic explained in a didactic tone to a diverse audience.
López Guerrero took part on 23 October, together with other READ academics and internationally recognised experts, in the session “Una sola salut en un món canviant: és inevitable una nova pandèmia?”, organised by the Catalan Institution of Agrarian Studies and the Academy of Veterinary Sciences of Catalonia with the support of the Royal European Academy of Doctors, the Royal Academy of Medicine of Catalonia, the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of Catalonia and Abat Oliva-CEU University. The academic presented the lecture “Is a New Pandemic Inevitable? A Global Overview”, in which he warned of the risks brought about by new realities such as globalisation or the climate crisis and the alteration of ecosystems.
A renowned science communicator, López Guerrero is Director of the Neurovirology Group of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid and of the Laboratory of Neurovirology and New Antivirals Against Human Viruses at the Severo Ochoa Centre for Molecular Biology. His most recent research focuses on neuropathology associated with herpes simplex virus type 1. Likewise, following the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, he established a new line of research investigating the virucidal and antiviral capacity of both natural and newly synthesised compounds against various viruses.
For his work in research and knowledge dissemination, he has received numerous awards such as the Madri+d Foundation Award (2012), the Antama Foundation Award (2014), the Spanish Bioindustry Association Asebio Award (2017), the CSIC-BBVA Foundation Award (2021), the Código Sepsis Award in the category of Research and Scientific Communication (2024), and the Royal National Academy of Medicine Award (2025). He collaborates regularly with various media outlets including Radio Nacional de España, Televisión Española and the cultural supplement “El Cultural” of the newspaper “El Mundo”. He is the author of more than a dozen books and 300 articles, both scientific and aimed at the general public. His works include “¿Qué es un transgénico? (y las madres que lo parieron)”, “Sé lo que ocurrió… los cursos pasados”, “Virus, ni vivos ni muertos”, “Coronavirus, anatomía de una pandemia” and “Virus, chicas y laboratorios. Memorias de un científico”.
