The Royal Academy of Medicine of Salamanca (RAMSA) is delighted to have María Victoria Mateos, haematologist, become a full member. She is an outstanding addition; this prestigious researcher in the field of Oncology is the third woman ever to achieve this distinction.
Yesterday, I had the honour of accompanying Mª Victoria Mateos, together with José Carretero, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, as she entered the Paraninfo de las Escuelas Mayores. It was a very moving moment in which I recalled vividly my own joining of the Academy last May.
María Victoria Mateos, a colleague at the University of Salamanca, gave a brilliant introductory speech entitled “Research in Haematology: Multiple Myeloma as a model”, a complete review of the advances made in this field of medicine, and Consuelo del Cañizo, a full member of RAMSA and a former colleague of the new academician, spoke in response to her speech. The two of them and María del Carmen Sáenz represent the female sector of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Salamanca, but there will soon be new additions, as Professor Bertha Gutiérrez Rodilla will join on 23 November for her speciality in the History of Medicine.
The merits for which María Victoria Mateos is joining the RAMSA are well known; she is a haematologist at the University Hospital of Salamanca and a researcher in multiple myeloma. Moreover, she is the President of the Spanish Society of Haematology and Haemotherapy and stands out for having promoted CAR-T cell therapy. She has received many well-deserved awards, but perhaps the Bart Barlogie Award from the International Myeloma Society is the most notable.
Her membership in RAMSA will allow her to spread her extensive knowledge among the members of the Academy of Medicine. Yesterday, she again demonstrated her great value: “Major challenges are still ahead, but challenges are essential for progress and innovation, which is always derived from basic, clinical and translational research,” said María Victoria Mateos. Congratulations to you, my fellow colleague!
