About The Speaker
When And where
Sara García Alonso
Sara García-Alonso is a research scientist at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) and a member of the European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut reserve. She graduated with a degree in Biotechnology from the University of León, finishing first in her class and receiving several awards for academic excellence. During her undergraduate years, she trained in various laboratories and completed her Master’s degree with a specialisation in Biomedicine.
In 2013, she moved to the Cancer Research Centre (2013–2018), where she earned her PhD cum laude in Cancer Molecular Biology and Translational Medicine. Her work was recognised with the Extraordinary Doctorate Award for the best thesis in Medicine at the University of Salamanca. Throughout this period, her research focused on identifying therapeutic targets and drug resistance mechanisms in various types of cancer.
In 2019, she joined Dr Mariano Barbacid’s laboratory at the CNIO, where she currently leads a project dedicated to developing drugs against KRAS-driven lung and pancreatic adenocarcinomas. Additionally, she serves as a mentor to researchers and supervises several doctoral theses.
In November 2022, Sara was selected from nearly 23,000 candidates as a
reserve astronaut for the European Astronaut Corps, becoming the first
Spanish woman to achieve this milestone. Between 2024 and 2026, she has balanced her scientific research with basic astronaut training at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.
She is a prolific public speaker and has participated in numerous events to inspire young people to pursue STEM careers, receiving the “Passion for Science” award. She has been honoured with multiple distinctions, including: the Ada Byron Award, the Silver Medal from the Government of Madrid, “Hija Predilecta” (Favourite Daughter) of León and “Leonesa del Año”, the Clara Campoamor Award from the Madrid City Council, or the Castile and León Award for Social Sciences and Humanities. Sara is ranked among the top 35 Spanish women leaders in technology and is listed by Forbes as one of the 100 most influential women in Spain.