Biography
Manuel R. Benito de las Heras was born in Antequera (Málaga) in 1950, Spain. He got the Master Degree in Biology by the University of Granada in 1973 and the Ph.D. in Biochemistry by University Autónoma of Madrid in 1976. He joined the Metabolic Res. Lab (Medical Res. Council, UK) directed by Sir Hans Krebs in Oxford (UK) in 1977, where he got the Honour Degree in Biochemistry by Oxford University in 1979 (D.Phil.). In 1979 was appointed Assistant Professor of Physiological Chemistry in the University Autónoma of Madrid. Appointed Associate Professor of Biochemistry (1982) and Full Professor of Biochemistry (1983), University Complutense of Madrid. Chairman of the Departments of Biochemistry and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 1982 to 1989. Appointed Visiting Scientist in the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, U.S.A. (1989-1991). Head of the Molecular Biology of Development and Cancer Lab since 1990 in the School of Pharmacy, at the University Complutense of Madrid. Appointed Visiting Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and Mary Iacocca Senior Research Fellow at the Joslin Diabetes Center from 1996-1998 and in 2009-2010, and named permanent Visiting Professor of Medicine of the Harvard Medical School since 2010. Appointed Chairman of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department since 1999 until 2008. Currently, Head of Diabetes and Obesity Lab, UCM/CAM and the Spanish Network of Diabetes (CIBERDEM) and Programme Director of Diabetes vascular complications at CIBRDEM (2008-2015). Throughout his academic career, he has imparted several courses on the subjects of Biochemistry, Metabolic Regulation, Enzimology, Molecular Physiology, Clinical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Animal Culture Technology and Developmental Biochemistry. He has supervised 33 Doctoral Thesis, and is currently running three additional ones. He has given conferences and seminars specially invited by Institutions of Great Britain, Germany, France and Sweden and many others in U.S.A., and has been invited speaker in Keystone Symposia, Cold Spring Harbor Symposia, Gordon Conferences, ADA and EASD. He has received several Scientific Awards such us the Royal Academy of Pharmacy National Prize in 1992, 1999, and 2016, Glaxo, Abelló, Serono Foundation and Ramón Areces 1997 and in 2019 the Alberto Sols award for oustanding achievements in metabolism and metabolic diseases research given by the Spanish Society of Diabetes. He is ordinary member of several Scientific Societies in his field such as A.D.A. and E.A.S.D. and Endocrine Society, and Honorary Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Navarra, Spain. He is corresponding member of the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy of Spain since 1992. From 1998 to 2000 was appointed as Chairman of the Committee of Cancer and Genetic of the National Medical Research Fund (FIS). He was member of the Board of the Future Forum from Astra-Zeneca on cardiovascular diseases (2003-2005). Over 45 years of scientific career, he has been Principal Investigator of more than 55 public and private Scientific Projects. His major scientific achievements in the field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oncology, Cell Biology and Endocrinology and Metabolism are reflected in more than 350 publications, more than 275 are scientific papers cited in the PubMed of NIH, or ResearchGate (h index 61, as reported in Google Scholar).
Research Interest
His mayor contributions may be summarized as follows: 1.- Contribute to the understanding of the intrahepatic regulation of lipid metabolism establishing the importance of malonyl-CoA in the balance between lipogenesis/beta-oxidation/ketogenesis. 2.- Hormonal regulation of the fetal liver metabolic maturation regarding the onset of gluconeogenesis and glucose uptake. 3.- Contribute to a better understanding of the role of several mitogens and hormones and TGF-beta in the balance between proliferation/differentation/apoptosis involved in the transition of fetal to adult liver. 4.- Establish the role of the oncogenic protein ras in the Ras-MAPK signaling kinase in relation to the insulin action on white adipogenic differentiation. 5.- Study the IGF-I/insulin differential signaling throughout several insulin-receptor-substrates and its importance in the balance between proliferation and differentiation in brown adipocytes. 6.- Contribute to a better understanding of the tissue-specificity of the insulin action and inaction in several celular models. 7.- Contribute to a new insight in the differential molecular carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer with or without microsatellite instability. 8.- Contribute to the role of telomerase and telomere function in the diagnosis and prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer. 9.- New mouse models for the study of type-II diabetes and its cardiovascular complications. 10.- A saga of seven new mouse models for the study of the energy balance, adiposity and metabolic syndrome: Obesity susceptibility and resistance. 11.- Contribute to the study of the etiopathogenetic of type 2 diabetes and its vascular and neurodegenerative complications.