Belén Requena | Biotechnology | Research Excellence Award

Dr. Belén Requena | Biotechnology | Research Excellence Award

San Pablo CEU University | Spain

Belén Paula Fernández Requena is a biotechnologist and academic researcher specializing in metabolomics, bioanalysis, lipid metabolism, and advanced imaging technologies. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology, a Master’s degree in Genetics and Cellular Biology, and a PhD in Health Sciences and Technology from CEU San Pablo University, where she is currently a full-time Profesor Contratado. Her doctoral work was conducted within the Excellence Research Group in Metabolomics and Bioanalysis (CEMBIO), focusing on molecular and metabolic mechanisms relevant to human health. Her international research experience spans leading European institutions, including Julius-Maximilians Universität Würzburg, IMDEA Food Institute, and Maastricht University, where she trained in single-cell imaging under the supervision of Prof. Ron Heeren. Her research interests include lipidomics, epigenetic regulation of metabolism, extracellular vesicles, plant and insect signaling mechanisms, and host–pathogen interactions, particularly lipid alterations associated with Leishmania infection and therapeutic response. Her work has contributed to interdisciplinary advances across biotechnology, molecular biology, and translational health research. Through sustained international collaboration and methodological innovation, she continues to advance metabolomics-driven approaches with long-term impact in biomedical and biotechnological sciences.


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Featured Publications


Plasma miRNA–Metabolite Dysregulation in People with HIV with Cirrhosis Despite Successful HCV Cure
Ana Virseda-Berdices, Raquel Behar-Lagares, Juan Berenguer, Juan González-García, Belén Fernández Requena et al.,
Pharmaceuticals, 2026. (Journal Article)

Addressing the Untargeted Lipidomics Challenge in Urine Samples: Comparative Study of Extraction Methods by UHPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS
Belén Fernández Requena, Carolina González-Riaño, Coral Barbas,
Analytica Chimica Acta, 2024. (WOS)

Comprehensive Lipidomic Analysis Reveals Further Insights into the Molecular Mechanism of Podocyte Lipotoxicity in Alport Syndrome
Amir Shabaka, Belén Fernández Requena, Carolina González-Riaño et al.,
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2024. (WOS)

LiLA: Lipid Lung-Based ATLAS Built Through a Comprehensive Workflow Designed for Accurate Lipid Annotation
Belén Fernández Requena, Sajid Nadeem, Vineel P. Reddy et al.,
Communications Biology, 2024. (Nature Portfolio)

Agata Rascio | Agricultural Science and Innovation | Research Excellence Award

Prof. Agata Rascio | Agricultural Science and Innovation | Research Excellence Award

CREA-CI | Italy

Agata Rascio is a senior plant physiologist with more than four decades of scientific contribution in crop ecophysiology, genetic resources, and plant stress biology, with a primary focus on durum wheat and quinoa. She earned a PhD in Productivity and Sustainability of Mediterranean Agricultural Systems from CREA, Italy, holds a three-year Specialistic Diploma in Nutrition from the University of Pavia (Faculty of Medicine), and graduated with a first-class degree in Biology from the University of Pavia. Her professional career includes long-term service as Senior Research Scientist and Laboratory Director at CREA-CI in Foggia, professorship under the Italian Ministry of Public Education, and consultancy roles in crop physiology. Her research interests span abiotic stress tolerance, yield formation in semi-arid environments, phenotyping methodologies, induced mutagenesis for biodiversity enhancement, gene expression under environmental stress, and metabolomic and nutraceutical characterization of plant genetic resources. SActively engaged in global scientific networks and editorial activities, she has also contributed as an evaluator for major international programs. Her achievements include the Wheat Initiative Recognition Award for innovative phenotyping approaches supporting wheat improvement, underscoring her lasting influence on sustainable agriculture and crop resilience research.

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Featured Publications


Enhanced osmotolerance of a wheat mutant selected for potassium accumulation
A. Rascio, M. Russo, L. Mazzucco, C. Platani, G. Nicastro, N. Di Fonzo,
Plant Science, 160(3), 441–448, 2001. (Citations: 113)

The accumulation of solutes and water binding strength in durum wheat
A. Rascio, C. Platani, G. Scalfati, A. Tonti, N. Di Fonzo,
Physiologia Plantarum, 90(4), 715–721, 1994. (Citations: 74)

Leaf morphology and water status changes in Triticum durum under water stress
A. Rascio, M.C. Cedola, M. Toponi, Z. Flagella, G. Wittmer,
Physiologia Plantarum, 78(3), 462–467, 1990. (Citations: 70)

Physiological responses to water stress following a conditioning period in berseem clover
A. Iannucci, A. Rascio, M. Russo, N. Di Fonzo, P. Martiniello,
Plant and Soil, 223(1), 219–229, 2000. (Citations: 64)

Characterisation of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) accessions for saponin content in a Mediterranean environment
G. De Santis, C. Maddaluno, T. D’Ambrosio, A. Rascio, M. Rinaldi, J. Troisi,
Italian Journal of Agronomy, 11(4), 2016. (Citations: 55)