Manel Esteller, ICREA Research Professor at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC) and Professor of Genetics at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Barcelona, received the Jaume Aiguader i Miró Award, granted by the Academy of Medical and Health Sciences of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. At the closing ceremony of the 2024–2025 academic year, held on Tuesday, 20 May, the Academy presented the award for the book “The Secret of Eternal Life” to Dr Manel Esteller and Dr Salvador Macip, researcher at the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Centre, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), and the University of Leicester, and co-author of the work.

The “Jaume Aiguader i Miró” distinction recognises the best science communication work written in Catalan and disseminated through media within the Academy’s field of activity. The award highlights work that, due to the public health relevance of the topic and the quality of its treatment, stands out in the field of health education and communication. The book “The Secret of Eternal Life” explains the biological mechanisms involved in ageing and longevity, as well as medical, social and lifestyle approaches to living longer and healthier lives. Dr Esteller’s team is currently investigating how epigenetic changes may be linked to premature ageing or extreme longevity, and how various drugs may influence these processes.

Dr Manel Esteller earned his degree in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Barcelona and obtained his PhD with a specialisation in the molecular genetics of endometrial carcinoma at the same university. He worked as a postdoctoral and associate researcher at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, USA), where he studied DNA methylation and its relationship with cancer. He led the Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) in Madrid and returned to Catalonia in 2008 to head the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Programme (PEBC) at the Bellvitge biomedical campus. He directed the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), where he currently leads the Cancer epigenetics group. Dr Esteller’s research has contributed to our understanding of the role of epigenetic alterations in human disease—particularly cancer—as well as to the development of disease biomarkers and novel therapies.