Microgravity Science and Technology - F. Javier Medina joins MST Editorial Board

Microgravity and Science Technology welcomes new Editor

1 September 2023

Francisco Javier Medina Díaz is joining the Editorial Board as an expert for life sciences. He has been working for more than 40 years on plant cell biology, lastly at the Biological Research Centre of the Spanish National Research Council (Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas Margarita Salas - CSIC), Madrid. His research focus is on space plant biology, specifically on the effects of altered gravity on proliferating plant cells. With his collaborators he has conducted experiments in the International Space Station and in ground-based facilities for microgravity simulation.

F. Javier Medina published more than 150 research papers in international peer-reviewed journals and books, supervised 13 PhD Theses and 7 Master Theses, and communicated research results in international conferences, university courses, including three courses in the ESA Academy, and outreach talks, including two TEDx talks. He founded in 1984 the Spanish Society for Cell Biology, of which he is Honor Member, and organized the International Congress of Cell Biology in 1992. In 2006, he brought together European, American, Russian and Japanese scientists, astronauts and managers in a conference to discuss on the early research outcomes of ISS. He has been member of the Executive Committees of the European Cell Biology Organization (ECBO) and the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA), and acted as adviser to different international research organizations. He was awarded with the ELGRA Medal 2019 for his contributions to Gravitational and Space Science and with the COSPAR Medal 2020 for International Cooperation. Associated to this award, his name was given to a small planet of the Great Belt of the Solar System. He retired in July 2022.