Paola Bovolenta

  • Director of the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Autonomous University of Madrid

Paola Bovolenta is the Director of the Centre for Molecular Biology (CSIC-UAM), Scientific Director of the CBM Severo Ochoa Excellence Award, and a member of the CIBER for Rare Diseases. She completed her PhD at the New York University School of Medicine and her postdoctoral work at Columbia University, Centre for Neurobiology and Behavior. She is internationally recognized for her work in the development of the vertebrate visual system and related congenital malformations, as well as for novel insights into the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Her expertise led to her appointment as CSIC’s Biology and Biomedicine Coordinator (2008-2012) and to the invitation to join the ERC Scientific Council (2017-2022), where she influenced European research, chaired the ERC Open Science Working Group, and participated in the EU Core Group on Reform of Research Assessment. She is currently Senior Editor for the European Journal of Neuroscience and a member of the editorial board of other journals. She continuously serves on selection committees for national and international private and public funding agencies and scientific awards. Among other engagements, she is currently President-elect of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), serves on the EMBO Policy Advisory Board, the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of ERA-NET Neuron and the SAB of distinct European research centers and foundations. She is an elected member of EMBO and Academia Europaea.