ABC Salud awards scientist Rafael Yuste and healthcare workers involved in the Valencia disaster

He was the man who convinced Barack Obama of the need to map the human brain to solve the most hidden mystery of human existence. He is also the voice who has most strongly advocated for the protection of the human mind from the abuses of a technology that threatens to manipulate our subconscious. Rafael Yuste (Madrid, 1963), president of the Neuroderechos Foundation and co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology at Columbia University (USA), is just one of the seven careers and initiatives recognized yesterday by the ABC Salud Awards jury.

Rafael Yuste is ABC Salud's Scientist of the Year 2025. Yuste's work alongside the award has been recognized for advances in HIV innovation, achievements in organ transplants, and philanthropic work in cancer. A special mention is being made of the efforts of healthcare professionals in caring for the victims and the aftermath of the Valencia flood. ABC thus wishes to recognize the work carried out by doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and psychologists following the catastrophic flood.

In this fifteenth edition, the jury was chaired by former Minister of Health Ana Pastor, as well as other health ministers: Trinidad Jiménez, Dolors Montserrat, and Julián García Vargas. ABC's Editor-in-Chief of Society, Nuria Ramírez de Castro, participated on behalf of ABC. The awards, sponsored by Asisa, have the collaboration of Anefp and UCAV as academic partners. The prizes will be presented on October 7th. Here are the winners:

It's much more than a new drug. It's a turning point in HIV treatment , preventing transmission of the AIDS virus with two annual injections. Science magazine selected this drug as one of the scientific breakthroughs of 2024 due to its potential to significantly reduce global infection rates. Although other prevention methods already exist, such as daily pills, it will allow the use of 365 pills to be reduced to two injections per year.

This Spanish-made technology represents a breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. Cardiologists define it as a "Google Maps" of the heart. It uses 128 electrodes placed on the chest to locate the areas of the heart where they originate. It identifies their causes and allows the most appropriate treatment to be selected without the need for catheters, and achieves this in just ten minutes. The device is similar to a vest with a total of 128 electrodes placed around the patient's chest. Their position is located using a scanner, recording the heart's electrical activity using an amplifier that represents it in three dimensions on the cardiac surface. The technology was developed by the Gregorio Marañón Hospital and the Polytechnic University of Valencia.

Anyone who has had a family member in an ICU knows the emotional impact it represents, both for the patient and their families. The creation of the UCI Educa project, led by the nurses at Madrid's 12 de Octubre Hospital, not only seeks to provide comfort and humanize hospital treatment, but also offers tools and knowledge to facilitate the hospital transition after discharge from a critical care unit. The project began in 2023 and has been held eight times to date.

This is a pioneering initiative of the Council of Professional Colleges of Pharmacists of Castile and León in collaboration with the Castilian-Leonese government. The project transforms community pharmacies into safe and accessible spaces for victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence.

For its 60-year history of organ transplants, from performing the first kidney transplant in 1968 to more recent milestones such as the first heart-lung transplant from a non-heart-lung donation , presented last June. This latest operation marks its 60th anniversary. The patient was a 54-year-old recipient, whose life was changed by the surgery after a lifetime of caring for a malfunctioning heart.

The University of Navarra Clinic opted to develop its Cancer Center by integrating its Madrid and Pamplona campuses into a single model. This year, they became the first private hospital to achieve the highest distinction for a center of this nature, having been designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the European Cancer Organization. In Spain, only the public Vall d'Hebrón Hospital in Barcelona has this distinction. This distinction recognizes institutions that coordinate multidisciplinary clinical care, research, clinical practice, as well as teaching and prevention.

For its leadership in the approval of advanced cancer therapies in the national health system. This foundation is the best example of how civil society can spur medical research. Its purpose is to ensure that scientific advances reach patients who cannot wait as quickly as possible and that the most cutting-edge advances are available to everyone within the national health system.