Researcher Juan Lerma appointed full member of the RAC

27 de March de 2025

• The Royal Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Spain (RAC) recognizes Juan Lerma's contributions to the field of neuroscience.

Juan Lerma Gómez, researcher at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche, has been appointed a full member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Spain (RAC). With this appointment, the RAC highlights his contributions to neuroscience research and reinforces his leadership in the scientific field at an international level.

Photo: Juan Lerma Gómez at the induction ceremony held at the RAC headquarters in Madrid.

The CSIC Research Professor at the IN CSIC-UMH, where he leads the Synaptic Physiology laboratory, has received Medal No. 39 as a full member, a position previously held by Jesús Antonio Vera Torres, Professor of Stratigraphy at the University of Granada. The induction ceremony took place yesterday at the RAC headquarters in Madrid, where Juan Lerma delivered his acceptance speech, titled “The Synapse in the Maze of the Mind.” In his speech, he discussed how mental activity is made possible through neuronal communication via synapses and presented his group’s contributions to this field. Carlos Belmonte, Professor Emeritus at UMH and founder of the IN CSIC-UMH, responded to his speech.

"Being inducted into the RAC at proposal of Miguel Delibes, president of the Natural Sciences Section, along with Carlos Belmonte and Esteban Domingo, is an immense honor both as a scientist and as a person. This appointment will allow me, on one hand, to enrich myself through interactions with highly esteemed scientists and, on the other, to continue promoting Spanish science," Lerma stated.

Video: "Toma de posesión de Juan Lerma Gómez - Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas Físicas Naturales"

A leading figure in brain research and its disorders

Juan Lerma was born in Moral de Calatrava (Ciudad Real) and moved with his family to Madrid, where he studied Biology at the Complutense University. He began his research career at the Ramón y Cajal Hospital and earned his Ph.D. in Science in 1983 from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He later worked at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York (USA), where he made significant contributions to the understanding of NMDA synaptic receptors. Upon his return to Spain, he continued his research at the Cajal Institute of the CSIC and later at the CSIC-UMH Neuroscience Institute, making notable contributions to the understanding of kainate receptors' functions.

Since his return to Spain in 1990, Lerma has held several prominent national and international positions and has led major initiatives in the field of neuroscience, establishing himself as a global leader in his area. He served as director of the IN CSIC-UMH for nine years (2007-2016), a period in which he played a decisive role in its growth and international projection. Currently, he is a CSIC Research Professor at the IN and a councilor of the U.S.-based Society for Neuroscience, from where he continues to promote neuroscience on a global scale.

This recognition adds to a long list of distinctions, including the Gold Medal of the Institute for Neurosciences, the Scientific Merit Distinction from the Valencian Government, and awards such as the Alberto Sols Prize, the CEOE Excellence Award of Castilla-La Mancha, and the Research Career Award from Universidad Mayor in Peru. Additionally, he is a member of prestigious scientific organizations such as the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and the Academia Europea. Lerma has authored over 100 scientific publications in high-impact journals and is a key figure in the development of new techniques and approaches for studying the brain and its disorders.

Source: Institute for Neurosciences CSIC-UMH (in.comunicacion@umh.es)