Two ICMol-UV researchers awarded “la Caixa” Foundation Junior Leader fellowships
Researchers Ramón Torres Cavanillas (RTMM group) and Beatriz Lozano Torres (CEL group) from the Instituto de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol) at the Universitat de València have been selected as recipients of the Junior Leader Incoming 2026 fellowships from the ”la Caixa” Foundation, one of the most competitive postdoctoral programmes in Europe.
The Junior Leader programme aims to attract international research talent to develop high-level research projects at universities and research centres in Spain and Portugal. In the 2026 call, 20 fellowships were awarded, with an average success rate of 5.93%, following a rigorous evaluation process that included reviews by independent experts and interviews with multidisciplinary scientific committees.
The fellowships have a three-year duration and provide an average funding of €320,100 per project, enabling researchers to develop independent research lines and consolidate their scientific careers.
Projects selected at ICMol
In the field of chemistry and advanced materials, the two ICMol researchers will develop projects focused on new functionalities of molecular and nanoscale materials.
Beatriz Lozano Torres will lead the project “PancTher: Ultrasound-responsive metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the concomitant local release of antiKRAS oligonucleotides and chemotherapeutics in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)”. Her research will explore the use of ultrasound-responsive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as platforms for the controlled and localized release of therapies targeting pancreatic cancer.
Meanwhile, Ramón Torres Cavanillas will carry out the project “Neuromorphic Switching in Engineered 2D Prussian Blue-Based Frameworks (Neuron2DBlue)”, focused on the development of materials based on two-dimensional Prussian Blue frameworks with neuromorphic switching properties, with potential applications in new brain-inspired computing architectures.
Supporting emerging research talent
The Junior Leader fellowships of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, aim to support outstanding researchers at an early stage of their independent careers.
The awarding of these fellowships to researchers linked to the Institute of Molecular Science reinforces the centre’s position as an internationally recognised environment for cutting-edge research in chemistry, functional materials and nanoscience.
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