Biola Javierre

Biola Javierre
Born
Biola María Javierre Martínez

1983 (age 42–43)
Sabiñánigo, Huesca, Spain
Education
Known forResearch on genome organization and leukemia
Scientific career
Fields
  • Epigenetics
  • functional genomics
Workplaces

Biola María Javierre Martínez (born 1983) is a Spanish biologist and biochemist who leads a research group at the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in Barcelona, where her work concerns three-dimensional genome organization and epigenomic regulation. She was named one of the 2019 L'Oréal-UNESCO International Rising Talents and received the 2026 Gabriella Morreale National Research Award for Young Researchers in Medicine and Health Sciences.

Early life and education

Javierre was born in Sabiñánigo, Huesca, in 1983. Her father was a science teacher, and she became interested in science while spending time in his school laboratory. She completed degrees in biology and biochemistry at the University of Navarra, followed by a doctorate in molecular biology at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Career

Javierre conducted research at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) before moving to the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, where she worked on a technique for identifying the regulatory sequences that control gene activity in particular cell types. In 2018, she joined the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, where she leads a research group on three-dimensional chromatin and gene regulation.

Her team later developed low-input Capture Hi-C (liCHi-C), which maps promoter interactions at high resolution in small cell populations and has been used to examine blood-cell differentiation and leukemia. In 2025, she received €1.25 million from CRIS Contra el Cáncer for a project on B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the role of less-studied DNA regions in relapse.

Public commentary

In 2019, Javierre criticised the limited visibility of women in science and the lack of research funding in Spain.

Awards

In 2019, L'Oréal-UNESCO selected Javierre as one of its 15 International Rising Talents, and the eighth edition of Top 100 Mujeres Líderes en España included her among its ten health-sector figures. In February 2026, FRACE and Mastercard named her the winner in biology and geology at their sixth Young Female Scientific Talent Awards for her research on three-dimensional genome organization and epigenomic regulation. On 27 October 2026, King Felipe VI presented her with the 2026 Gabriella Morreale National Research Award for Young Researchers in Medicine and Health Sciences, in recognition of her work in epigenetics and functional genomics.

References

  1. ↑ Perla Mateo, María Pilar (26 October 2026). "Dos aragoneses reciben el Premio Nacional de Investigación: "Va a ser un día que no olvidaré en mi vida"" [Two Aragonese researchers receive National Research Awards: "It will be a day I will never forget"]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2026.(subscription required)
  2. ↑ "Mastercard y FRACE celebran la VI edición de los Premios al Joven Talento Científico Femenino" [Mastercard and FRACE hold the sixth Young Female Scientific Talent Awards]. Real Academia de Ciencias (in Spanish). 18 February 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "La oscense Biola Javierre, investigadora destacada por la Unesco" [Huesca researcher Biola Javierre, recognised by UNESCO]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 11 February 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  4. ↑ "El MICIU concede los Premios Nacionales de Investigación 2026" [MICIU grants the 2026 National Research Awards]. Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (in Spanish). 30 July 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  5. ↑ "Biola María Javierre Martínez, becaria Leonardo 2024 en Investigación Básica" [Biola María Javierre Martínez, 2024 Leonardo grantee in Basic Research]. Fundación BBVA (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  6. ↑ "Biola Javierre, una oscense entre las científicas más prometedoras del mundo" [Biola Javierre, a researcher from Huesca among the world's most promising women scientists]. Heraldo de Aragón (in Spanish). 14 March 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "Dos médicos y dos farmacéuticas, entre los 100 líderes españoles del futuro" [Two doctors and two pharmacists among Spain's 100 leaders of the future]. Redacción Médica (in Spanish). 5 January 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  8. ↑ López Calvo, Cristina (31 July 2026). "La sabiñaniguense Biola Javierre, Premio Nacional de Investigación para jóvenes" [Biola Javierre of Sabiñánigo wins the National Research Award for Young Researchers]. Cadena SER (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "Biola Javierre: "Buscamos tratamientos más eficaces contra la leucemia infantil"" [Biola Javierre: "We are looking for more effective treatments for childhood leukemia"]. Mujerhoy (in Spanish). 24 April 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Rey-Millet, Martin (1 February 2024). "The genome in space and time comes of age". Nucleus. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Díaz, Paka (18 September 2025). "Biola Javierre, la pionera en la lucha contra la leucemia: "En el adn se encuentra la clave que tantos pacientes necesitan"" [Biola Javierre, a pioneer in the fight against leukemia: "DNA holds the answers that so many patients need"]. El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "Una española entre las científicas más prometedoras del mundo" [A Spanish woman among the world's most promising scientists]. La Razón (in Spanish). 15 March 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Estas son las 10 mujeres más influyentes en la sanidad española" [These are the 10 most influential women in Spanish health care]. Redacción Médica (in Spanish). 26 November 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  14. ↑ "Biola Javierre Martínez y Pilar Jurado Angulo, galardonadas en la VI edición de los Premios al Joven Talento Científico Femenino" [Biola Javierre Martínez and Pilar Jurado Angulo honoured at the sixth Young Female Scientific Talent Awards]. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (in Spanish). 20 February 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "Dos Premios Nacionales de Investigación para Aragón" [Two National Research Awards for Aragon]. Aragón Noticias (in Spanish). 27 October 2026. Retrieved 28 October 2026.