We are proud to announce that Antonio Francés Monerris, researcher at the QCEXVAL group at ICMol, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Young Investigator Prize by the European Society for Photobiology (ESP).

This international recognition highlights his outstanding contributions to computational photochemistry and his growing impact on the understanding of light-induced molecular processes.

Antonio Francés Monerris graduated from the University of Valencia in 2009. In 2011, he completed his Master's degree in Organic Chemistry at the Universitat Politècnica de València, including a research stay in a pharmaceutical company. That same year, he began his PhD in computational chemistry at the Institute of Molecular Science (UV), under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Roca Sanjuán and Dr. Manuela Merchán in the QCEXVAL (Quantum Chemistry of the Excited State of Valencia) group. His doctoral research focused on the fundamental principles of chemical and photochemical damage to DNA bases using advanced ab initio theoretical methods. In 2014, he completed a research stay at Uppsala University (Sweden), under the guidance of Prof. Roland Lindh, studying chemiluminescent reactions.

In 2017, Dr. Francés began his postdoctoral career in Nancy (France) with Prof. Antonio Monari and was recognized as a "High Level Researcher" by the regional government "Région Grand Est". In 2019, he was awarded a competitive APOSTD postdoctoral contract funded by the Generalitat Valenciana, enabling him to work with Professors Monari and Iñaki Tuñón (Valencia). During nearly three and a half years in France, he carried out cutting-edge studies in non-adiabatic excited state dynamics and advanced QM/MM hybrid simulations in biological systems.

His return to Valencia was consolidated in 2021 with a Juan de la Cierva (reincorporation) contract from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. He rejoined the QCEXVAL group as an Assistant Professor and currently leads a national research project focused on the design and study of light-induced anticancer therapies based on next-generation compounds.

The Institute of Molecular Science congratulates Antonio on this well-deserved award, which reflects the excellence and dedication of the young researchers in our scientific community.

Congratulations, Antonio!