Manel Esteller, director of the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), ICREA researcher and Professor of Genetics at the University of Barcelona, has been awarded the highest award of the Royal National Academy of Medicine (RANME). This distinction also entails the recognition of Dr. Esteller as a Corresponding Academician of the RANME, the Medal of the Academic Body and the corresponding accreditation diploma.

The RANME has awarded Dr. Esteller its highest distinction for his extraordinary contributions to medicine, especially for his discoveries in epigenetics in health and disease, mainly in the oncology field.

The RANME is a scientific corporation under public law founded in 1861. According to its statutes, its main objectives include advising institutional and political authorities on all matters related to medicine and health; contributing to and promoting the dissemination of medical science; developing and updating a Virtual Library of Medicine and a Dictionary of medical terms, as well as promoting and developing a Museum of Medicine.

The official ceremony to receive the award as well as Dr Esteller's admission as an Academician will take place on Tuesday, 16 January at 18.00 in the auditorium of the official headquarters of the RANME in Madrid, in the presence of the President of the RANME, Mr Eduardo Díaz-Rubio, and the board of directors of the Institution.