EVALUATION REPORT OF THE 1ST D. SANTIAGO RAMÓN Y CAJAL AWARD, PROFESSOR OF HISTOLOGY
In Salamanca, on March 4, 2025, the Jury of the 1ST D. SANTIAGO RAMÓN Y CAJAL AWARD, PROFESSOR OF HISTOLOGY convened, organized by the Spanish Society of Histology and Tissue Engineering (Sociedad Española de Histología e Ingeniería Tisular), on the occasion of the 2nd Tribute SALAMANCA: FOR CAJAL AND SCIENCE.
ATTENDEES
The Jury was composed of:
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Mr. Manuel Garrosa García, as Chair
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Mr. Juan Francisco Madrid Cuevas, Member
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Mr. José Francisco Adserias Vistué, Secretary
PROCEEDINGS
Having previously read the works submitted to the competition, and after the corresponding debate on the merits of each entry, the Jury thanks the contestants for their contributions and, given the high quality of the essays, unanimously agrees:
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To award, in addition to the announced prize, two runners-up prizes (accésits).
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The Award is granted to the work entitled: “Santiago Ramón y Cajal. The Genesis of His First Teaching Textbook of Histology” (“Santiago Ramón y Cajal. La génesis de su primer texto docente de Histología”), by authors Fernando Campos and Jesús Chato, professors at the University of Granada. The Jury considered that in their essay the authors carry out a careful, highly documented historical review that highlights D. Santiago’s teaching dimension, with special emphasis on the genesis and innovative content of the first Histology textbook written by Cajal, entitled “Manual of Normal Histology and Micrographic Technique” (“Manual de Histología Normal y Técnica Micrográfica”) of 1889. In their work, the authors demonstrate Cajal’s exemplary constancy and dedication to university teaching, striving to write a student-oriented book so that they would have an up-to-date text in Spanish that included his own personal observations accompanied by his masterful original illustrations, which had been absent until then from non-translated Spanish books on the subject. With their work, the authors highlight Cajal’s noble motivations for writing it, as well as his humility in considering his work capable of improvement in successive editions. Likewise, the authors skillfully highlight the impact the book had on the training of future generations and its reach in Latin America.
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A first runner-up prize is granted to the work entitled “The Butterflies of the Classroom” (“Las mariposas del aula”) by Francisco J. Esteban, Associate Professor at the University of Jaén, who very aptly evokes with that title the emotion and enthusiasm for teaching, and throughout the essay masterfully develops the idea that what we today call “teaching innovation” was already being applied by Cajal in his university teaching activities.
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A second runner-up prize is granted to the work “Science and Art in the Service of University Education” (“Ciencia y arte al servicio de la Educación Universitaria”) by Elena Giné, Associate Professor at the Complutense University of Madrid (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), in which the author shows us in an elegant yet expressive style how Cajal’s drawings, transformed into large-scale paintings, illustrated for students the modern concepts of Histology of that era, in a manner similar to how we create presentations today.
CLOSING
There being no further matters to address, the session was adjourned, all of which I attest to as Secretary, with the approval of the Chair.
Signed: José Francisco Adserias Vistué Secretary
Approved: Manuel Garrosa García Chair
