Luis Manuel Rubio Herrero - Biography#

Luis M. Rubio is a Professor at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. From 2016 to 2020 he was Deputy Director of CBGP, a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence. Previously, Luis carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and held professional research positions at the University of California-Berkeley. He works on biotechnological applications of nitrogenase, including its improvement as a biocatalyst for H2 production and the engineering of nitrogen fixing cereals. Luis is recognized internationally for contributions to nitrogenase assembly and biochemistry. He obtained an ERC Starting Grant in 2008 and more than 14 million US$ in three grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop nitrogen fixing cereals (in 2011, 2016 and 2020). He has also been PI of 3 Spanish National grants. Luis has 60 peer-reviewed publications in journals and 2 patents in nitrogenase engineering. He is regular plenary speaker at the European Nitrogen Fixation Conference (ENFC) and the International Congress on Nitrogen Fixation (ICNF), as well as in synthetic biology, biochemistry and plant biology meetings. From 2016 to 2021, Luis has delivered 40 talks at scientific meetings, research institutions, younger students, and to a broader public. He has taught many university courses at undergraduate and Master levels, including Biochemistry at University of Seville, General Microbiology at UC-Berkeley, and Bioreactors and Environmental Microbiology at UPM. Luis is active reviewer for international grant agencies and high impact journals. He received an UPM Research Prize in 2019, a UPM Innovatech 2T Challenge prize in 2017, and the Fertiberia prize in 2021. Luis is on the ENFC and ICNF Steering Committees, on the Board of Directors of the Spanish Society for Nitrogen Fixation (SEFIN), and on the Adam Kondorosi-Academia Europaea Awards Committee. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board of Pivot Bio, and was member of CBGP internal Scientific Advisory Board (2012-2016). Luis has been advisor of 10 PhD students and supervisor of more than 25 postdoctoral researchers. He is engaged in science dissemination to a broader audience and has appeared on TEDxChange, national TV, national radio, and major journals.