Clara Álvarez Villamarín

Trained as a physician and PhD at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Clara V. Álvarez completed her scientific specialization with postdoctoral stays at internationally renowned centers: the Institut für Molekularbiologie und Tumorforschung at the University of Marburg (Germany) and the DIBIT at the San Raffaele Hospital (now Università Vita-Salute), in Milan (Italy). After a period as a professor at the University of Vigo, she permanently settled at the Faculty of Medicine in Santiago, where she teaches hundreds of future doctors every year.

She is currently a Full Professor at USC and a researcher at CIMUS, leading a multidisciplinary line of research in oncological endocrinology. She coordinates a team that brings together specialists in pathology, surgery, endocrinology, oncology, and molecular biology, fostering a real connection between research and clinical practice.

Her laboratory studies thyroid cancer, pituitary tumors, and other endocrine disorders, using cells obtained from surgical samples altruistically donated by patients—from excess material from surgical interventions—thanks to collaboration with clinical teams at the main hospitals in Galicia. This unique model promotes collective, personalized research that is oriented toward the real needs of patients.

Her career is backed by 87 peer-reviewed publications (PubMed), the supervision of numerous doctoral theses, and ownership of biomedical innovation patents. She has given lectures at over 90 national and international conferences (including plenary sessions and global forums).

Clara V. Álvarez has held prominent positions in national and European scientific societies (ETA, ESE, SEEN) and currently serves as Secretary of the Thyroid Cancer Group of the European Thyroid Association (ETA), participating in scientific coordination at the European level.

She is actively involved in academic publishing and currently serves as an Associate Editor for Endocrine Oncology, a leading journal in the field.

Her work has received recognition through awards such as the Serono, Novartis, Fundación SEEN, and Sergio Vidal prizes. She is known as a researcher committed to knowledge transfer and cross-disciplinary innovation, always promoting interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure that scientific advances directly benefit patients and society.