"It is necessary to encourage research vocation in girls and women."
Interview with María José Sánchez, scientific director of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA) and professor at the Andalusian School of Public Health
María José Sánchez, a researcher at the Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP), is one of the ten women who appear in the Classification of Spanish and foreign researchers in Spain, according to Google Scholar, prepared by the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). . Specifically, she occupies eighth place on this list in which 5.600 researchers appear ordered according to the highest h index and secondarily by number of citations. This researcher studied Medicine and Surgery, and received her doctorate from the University of Granada in 1996. She is a specialist in Clinical Microbiology and Parasitology (MIR 1993-1996) and an expert in Epidemiology and Clinical Research from the University of Granada in 2000. Later, she joined to EASP in 1997 as a research and technical fellow attached to the Cancer Registry of Granada. Since 2003 she has worked as a professor and head of the Research Directorate from 2007 to 2016, and the Directorate of the Granada Cancer Registry since 2009. Among many other occupations, she has been the principal investigator of a research group of the Epidemiology and Public Health Cyber (CIBERESP), president of the Spanish Network of population cancer registries or adviser to the Directorate of the Comprehensive Oncology Plan of Andalusia since 2015. She is currently the scientific director of the Granada Biosanitary Research Institute (IBS GRANADA). She also works as coordinator of the Epidemiology and Control of Chronic Diseases Program of the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health. Likewise, she is the director of the EASP 5P Chair of Medicine, the University of Granada and Roche. María José Sánchez receives an award from the Granada Provincial Council in 2022 for her research career in Oncology. Her work as her health professional goes much further, since she also has extensive teaching experience.
What has the recognition of the Diputación de Granada meant for you?
Indeed, in November 2022 I received the Gold Medal of the province of Granada, awarded by the Diputación de Granada, for my cancer research career. Really, it fills me with satisfaction and pride to have received this distinction, because it recognizes the cancer research of an Andalusian research group, also led by a woman.
In his speech he commented on the need to "promote research vocations", how could it be done?
It is clearly necessary to promote research vocations in girls and women. It is necessary to continue proposing from various sectors of society (universities, research centers or public administration) initiatives aimed at increasing interest in science and technology among youth.
How can it be done?
For example, through meetings between students and different profiles of scientific-technical professionals, so that they can see them work and can broaden their knowledge about the type of work that is carried out in these sectors. In addition, it should be emphasized that to promote scientific-technical vocations, it is not enough to improve interest and competence in scientific and technological subjects, nor to try to make them more fun. It is necessary to influence other related aspects, such as the students' own perception of their suitability, the perception of their environment in relation to the jobs, as well as the possibilities offered by the labor market within these areas.
What are the main problems facing research in Spain?
Spain invests up to four times less money than its GDP in science and has less than half the number of researchers per million inhabitants than countries like South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Singapore, Germany, etc. Research in Spain is an obstacle course, surrounded by bureaucracy for its management, and with little funding, below the European average.
Young researchers continue to emigrate.
Spain has to invest more in science. It is difficult to retain and stabilize scientific talent in our institutions. We have to be able to generate potentially useful knowledge with a high impact at an academic, scientific, social and economic level, as a motor for renewal and progress in all sectors.
And what are the best satisfactions for a researcher?
Satisfactions there are many. One of them is the excellence of the researchers in Spain and the capacity for work; we do a lot with little money. On the other hand, generating scientific knowledge that helps improve people's lives is the most satisfying, that is, translational research that reaches the patient's bedside from the laboratory. On the other hand, it is very satisfying to be able to do research to prevent the development of diseases such as cancer.
When and how did this vocation as a researcher begin in you?
From a very young age I was restless and curious to study and discover things. I did a bachelor's degree in pure sciences, I really liked mathematics. I decided to study Medicine with the idea of avoiding diseases and caring for people who were already sick. During my MIR period at the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada, I had the opportunity to train in research and do my doctoral thesis. There I realized that biomedical research was my passion. I linked microbiology with cancer, in the project that clearly marked my professional life, an international project on human papillomavirus and oral cavity cancer. And since then, it has been non-stop.
What does your current job consist of? How much time do you spend on research and how much on training?
I currently direct a research group of excellence at the Andalusian School of Public Health, at IBS GRANADA and at CIBERESP. She dedicates a large part of my work to direction and management tasks since I am the scientific director of the IBS GRANADA. Despite my managerial responsibilities, I have never stopped requesting projects, writing scientific articles, requesting human resources and my popular science tasks that I enjoy so much. A percentage of my time is also dedicated to teaching undergraduate, but, above all, postgraduate master's degrees. In short, I work too much.
In general, what differences exist at present between a researcher and a researcher?
Fortunately, there are fewer and fewer differences between male and female researchers, especially in the initial phases of the research career. In science, women are in the majority, but in the lowest positions. As you move up the scientific career ladder, the number of women is less and less.
How is your relationship with the administrative and financial part of your work as a researcher? Does she get involved in all the steps to get material or financing, for example?
I spend my life asking for competitive resources for research, both public and private, for projects and for pre and postdoctoral contracts. That is part of my job. We cannot stop if we want to maintain and grow the research group. The stable financing of CIBERESP is an important aid for researcher contracts.
In your case, how do you assess public funding vs. private financing? Is it possible to achieve a public-private collaboration?
Funding for research and innovation in the health and biomedicine sector must be fundamentally public, but also private. I am convinced that, in research, public-private collaboration is the model that we must follow, supporting the development of projects between companies and research organisations. The objective is to promote the development of new technologies, the business application of new ideas and techniques, and contribute to the creation of new products and services.
What advice would you give to a young person who feels that investigative vocation?
You have to study a lot, there is no other. Research is a long-distance race in which you have to put a lot of enthusiasm and personal effort. They have to respect themselves to be able to respect others, love their work, put passion to do what one likes, enjoy the desire to learn just for the pleasure of doing it, overcome and learn from mistakes, the importance of a second language, human warmth, sense of humor and commitment
