Juan Olivenza will run from Logroño to Huelva in favor of research in pediatric oncology
30 January 2024
Diagnosis: death due to fire
1 February, 2024
Researchers from IIS Aragón speak in this Heraldo de Aragón report about their scientific career abroad and what their return to Spain has been like.
Going abroad is an essential part of a scientific career, but no young talent leaves with a return ticket in their pocket and a lot of uncertainty.
A door opens from time to time in the form of a call to enter the investigation and stay. Right now, for example, and until the end of February, the Aragonese Agency for Research and Development Foundation (ARAID) is open, an international call to hire up to a maximum of 12 researchers. The key to obtaining one of these contracts is a resume that, to begin with, reflects a minimum of six years of postdoctoral experience, two of them in prestigious research centers, whether inside or outside Spain.
The biologist David Fernández Antorán entered through that same door a few years ago and signed an indefinite contract as an Araid researcher at the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), where he arrived from the United Kingdom. Today he directs a research laboratory at the Miguel Servet Hospital in Zaragoza and, at the same time, he also leads another laboratory and teaches classes at the University of Cambridge.
His professional perspectives are to “establish a consolidated group in Aragon where I can carry out all the research that I have been doing in Cambridge in recent years and collaborate with other well-established groups, as well as start new projects, all aimed at improving the lives of cancer patients.
Three comeback stories
Along with two other researchers, Alejandra González Loyola and María Sancho Albero, David Fernández participated in the VII Meeting of Young Researchers around the World. In past editions, they themselves were those young researchers abroad aspiring to return. Now, his three stories are of return, but with a very different degree of two ingredients that deeply condition the career and also the life of any person who wants to dedicate themselves to research: the lack of job stability and uncertainty.
«Science is a long-distance race"Those who want to apply for it have to set ambitious goals and create a specific training itinerary," says Javier Aragón. From his position as a Scientific Management and Training technician in the Projects and Scientific Management Unit of the IIS Aragón, his work is fundamentally focused on the management of calls for research personnel at all stages, as well as the analysis of the scientific indicators of the institute and the organization of training activities aimed at IIS Aragón researchers.
With the thesis under your arm, to qualify for a grant or a contract in a competitive call for consolidated researchers, professional specialization in research, development, knowledge transfer and innovation tasks involves carrying out postdoctoral stays abroad for periods equal to or greater than two years, "which allows them to develop different transversal skills and begin to create their own networks of researchers around a topic," highlights Aragón.
«Many of the colleagues with whom I coincided doing the doctoral thesis have been forced to abandon their scientific career. It is a shame, since it is a great loss of human and trained capital in our country."
Able to return
In Spain "there are great scientists with motivation and with a number of ideas and initiatives that should be promoted and that on numerous occasions are blurred and not carried out due to the few guarantees of stability." This is how María Sancho Albero sees it, a doctor in Chemical Engineering who, after spending time in Zurich and Milan, has been working since October 2023 in the NFP group of the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragon (INMA, joint CSIC-University of Zaragoza center) . «Many times –he values–, 'patch' aid is promoted without planning for the future. In my case, today I have managed to win a very competitive project at the national level aimed at postdoctoral talents to be able to return to Spain and develop my research project in Zaragoza for four years. I'm lucky".
In his opinion, «one of the main problems is uncertainty and lack of stability. In fact, many of the colleagues with whom I coincided while writing my doctoral thesis have been forced to abandon their scientific career. It is a shame, since it is a great loss of human and trained capital in our country. In his case, «Although it has been a path full of changes and uncertainty, I consider that I have not had to give up anything that I have wanted to dedicate myself to my work, although it is true that the research has taken up my time. "I have been away from my family and friends for two and a half years to be able to continue training with the aim of returning to Spain as a researcher, something that was not even guaranteed."
Now he has managed to return to INMA, to the group led by Jesús Santamaría, who was also his thesis director. After these four years that she covers him with the help obtained a few months ago, his goal is to be able to stabilize himself at the University of Zaragoza "and to ensure that the scientific work I do today can be useful in the future. In a few years, he would love to have his own research group, "where I can transmit my passion for learning and working as a team, developing pioneering research into new nanomaterials in the biomedical field and training new generations of scientists to make their ideas real." and hypotheses.
The problem with this type of aid is that, although they allow you to return, they do not allow you to stabilize, they are fixed-term contracts.
The return from Switzerland has been complicated for biochemist Alejandra González Loyola, 2022 Excellence Award as a young researcher at the University of Lausanne. «Going back requires a lot of perseverance"After several years of asking for aid, in 2022 I obtained a María Zambrano Grant for the Attraction of International Talent thanks to which I was able to return to Zaragoza as a senior postdoctoral researcher."
He currently works in the Metabolism and Tumor Stem Cells group, at the Aragón Health Research Institute. "The problem with this type of aid," he acknowledges, "is that, although they allow you to return, they do not allow you to stabilize, they are fixed-term contracts.". Thanks to having obtained a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-ISCIII-Health Seal of Excellence grant, she now leads her line of research to decipher new therapeutic mechanisms that slow the progression of pancreatic cancer. "It consists of a two-year contract that covers my salary and 21.000 euros for my research project," she says. Her plans to continue in her research career after those two years are to apply for competitive scholarships with stabilization prospects such as the Ramón y Cajal, Miguel Servet and Araid aid.
Preserve
The return from Switzerland has been complicated for biochemist Alejandra González Loyola, 2022 Excellence Award as a young researcher at the University of Lausanne. «Going back requires a lot of perseverance"After several years of asking for aid, in 2022 I obtained a María Zambrano Grant for the Attraction of International Talent thanks to which I was able to return to Zaragoza as a senior postdoctoral researcher."
He currently works in the Metabolism and Tumor Stem Cells group, at the Aragón Health Research Institute. "The problem with this type of aid," he acknowledges, "is that, although they allow you to return, they do not allow you to stabilize, they are fixed-term contracts.". Thanks to having obtained a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions-ISCIII-Health Seal of Excellence grant, she now leads her line of research to decipher new therapeutic mechanisms that slow the progression of pancreatic cancer. "It consists of a two-year contract that covers my salary and 21.000 euros for my research project," she says. Her plans to continue in her research career after those two years are to apply for competitive scholarships with stabilization prospects such as the Ramón y Cajal, Miguel Servet and Araid aid.
More financing
David Fernández Antorán is now an Araid researcher with an indefinite contract, but he knows this reality well: «As scientists, we depend on temporary contracts and success in publications to ensure the renewal of projects. This not only determines the course of our professional careers, but also "It significantly influences the planning of our lives."
«The biggest problem is being away from your land and away from your family for a time that you will never know how long it will last. It's the hardest thing to do."
From your point of view, The biggest problem, “which not only affects young researchers,” is the lack of funding. "We need a society more involved with science, which demands greater investment from politicians and which allows us to offer competitive positions to many of those bright young people who want to change things and do quality science," he says.
He was also a young researcher abroad, specifically in the United Kingdom, "where I missed the family and the lifestyle we had in Spain… and a mop –he adds–; "In England there is carpet everywhere and you can never mop it and that is missing.". Returning to the essentials, he believes that for many young people abroad, “the biggest problem is being away from your homeland and away from your family for a time that you will never know how long it will last. "It's the hardest thing to do."
Her colleague Alejandra González agrees that in Spain there is a lack of funding for research. If we compare with other countries, "abroad there are many more calls, both public and private, which, in addition, are better funded, and there is also a greater commitment to stabilization for researchers with a competitive profile and high mobility and internationalization." His wish for 2024 would be that "in Spain, the Government's investment in science is equal to that of our European neighbors and that there are more and more scientific promises, because progress in science is needed."
For María Sancho, "Science and research cannot wait, they need more funding and resources." From his experience, “research is an occupation not only of great insecurity and uncertainty, but also one that is not sufficiently recognized. It requires great dedication, many hours of work, sometimes the expected results come out and other times they go wrong. Furthermore, there are few (and very competitive) stable projects that exist in Spain to be able to dedicate yourself to research in a continuous and stable manner. As you grow in your research career, you dedicate more time to bureaucracy, to requesting funding and projects (which in the vast majority of cases you do not get), and this reduces hours of research.
Consider that Making the importance of research visible is key to recognizing the work of researchers and promoting stability in our country. Meanwhile, personally, she feels lucky to be able to dedicate herself, like her colleagues, to something that she is passionate about and that she enjoys every day.
From a very young age, María Sancho Albero (Leciñena, Zaragoza, 1993) was "a restless, curious and creative person." She began research "spontaneously, and over time I realized that "It has a vocational component, it requires a lot of dedication, but it excites me."
PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Zaragoza, since October 2023 she has been researching at the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragon (CSIC-Unizar), after having won a competitive contract – one of eight in all of Spain – for postdoctoral talents. In her thesis, she did stays at the ETH in Zurich and the Polytechnic of Milan. After completing her doctorate, she followed her director's advice to go abroad for at least two years. «It was not an easy decision, since I began my journey in the middle of a pandemic», remember. In the last two and a half years she has worked at the Mario Negri Institute in Milan (Italy), being part of the group led by Luisa De Cola. "Working with her, one of the best scientists in nanotechnology, has been a great opportunity to carry out cutting-edge research in this field." Her project focused on developing nanocontainers capable of directing and transporting antitumor drugs and molecules in the body.
In Italy, "One of the biggest problems I faced was the uncertainty of getting a project that would allow me to return to my country, I didn't know how, when or under what conditions it was going to happen." What he missed most was not being able to share his daily life with his family and friends. A personal environment "that has supported me and helped me combine my personal plans with my professional goals."
He was born in Seville (1980), but David Fernández Antorán feels "almost Aragonese." His mother “was from Zaragoza, like my entire maternal family. My wife is from Zaragoza and I have spent many seasons here. He always liked "understanding how things work and then fixing them.", so he studied Biology in Seville and later went to Madrid to do his thesis in oncology and immunology. “We then went to Cambridge for a seven-year postdoctoral stay at the Sanger Institute, after which I obtained a position as group leader and funding from CRUK (similar to the AECC) at the University of Cambridge,” he says. After a few years, he obtained his position as an Araid researcher at the IIS-Aragón "and here we are." He combines his research work at Servetus with teaching and research at Cambridge. His focus: figuring out why we develop cancer and how to prevent it by eliminating the responsible cells before they cause it. He also works on new therapies and improvements to existing ones.
Acknowledge that "The inherent instability of our profession has had a direct impact on any life plans I could have contemplated with my family."
During the doctoral thesis, «the intensity of the work translates into an exclusive dedication to carrying out all the experiments, leaving little room for other aspects of life. Furthermore – he highlights – the lack of opportunities to return to the country of origin could be described as a voluntary exile, always waiting for a worthy opportunity to return. However, «Despite these obstacles, I consider myself lucky. "I have managed to achieve my goals thanks to the opportunities that have arisen and the support of my family."
Many other things weigh in the balance, because "if it were only for a labor issue, there would be hardly any scientific return, because "Working conditions, in most cases, are much better abroad and with better prospects for stabilization.". In the other dish by Alejandra González Loyola (Madrid, 1985) this reflection is combined: «Really, stays abroad are highly recommended, they enrich you a lot both professionally and personally, but it is true that having your family far away and "The culture of the host country often influences the decision to return."
Although she was born in Madrid, "I consider myself Aragonese because I came to live in Zaragoza when I was one year old, almost all of my family is from here and I have lived in Zaragoza until I went to Salamanca to study Biology and Biochemistry. After spending half his life outside Aragon – undergraduate in Salamanca, Erasmus in Manchester, master's degree in Barcelona, doctorate in Madrid and postdoctoral degree in Lausanne (Switzerland) – "I decided to return to my homeland and I was able to return to Zaragoza in 2022 thanks to a María Zambrano Grant for the Attraction of International Talent.". Currently, he enjoys an MSCA-ISCIII-Health Seal of Excellence grant. He leads a line of research focused on pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal.
