Maria-Jesus Blanco

Maria-Jesus Blanco has a strong background in the field of medicinal chemistry. Maria-Jesus is currently the Vice President and Head of Chemical Sciences at Atavistik Bio, a position they have held since September 2021. Prior to this, they worked at Sage Therapeutics from 2017 to 2021, where they served as the Head of Chemistry and later as the Senior Director of Medicinal Chemistry. In 2020, they were also the Vice-chair of the National ACS Medicinal Chemistry Division at ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry. From 2016 to 2019, Maria-Jesus worked as an Industrial councilor at ACS Division of Medicinal Chemistry. Their earlier experience includes roles at Eli Lilly and Company, where they held positions such as Director of Discovery Chemistry Research & Technologies, Group Leader & Research Advisor, Principal Research Scientist, and Research Scientist.

Maria-Jesus Blanco has a strong educational background in the field of Organic Chemistry. Maria-Jesus obtained their Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, where they studied under the guidance of Professor F. J. Sardina from 1992 to 1997. During their doctoral program, they also had the opportunity to conduct research at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in Organic Synthesis under the supervision of Professor H. Rapoport in 1995.

After completing their Ph.D., Maria-Jesus Blanco pursued a postdoctoral position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997-1998. This experience allowed their to work with Professor S. Masamune and expand their knowledge in the field.

Following their time at MIT, Maria-Jesus Blanco continued their academic pursuits with another post-doctoral position in Supramolecular Chemistry at the Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg I) from 1998 to 1999. Here, they had the honor of collaborating with Nobel Laureate Professor Jean-Pierre Sauvage.

In addition to their formal education, Maria-Jesus Blanco also completed executive and entrepreneurial leadership training at Babson College, where they focused on developing their skills in this area from an unspecified start year until 2015.

More recently, Maria-Jesus Blanco has obtained several certifications. In October 2020, they completed a course on "Psychological Safety: Clear Blocks to Innovation, Collaboration, and Risk-Taking" through LinkedIn. Earlier in the same year, in May 2020, they also acquired certifications in "Strategic Agility" and "Strategic Thinking" through LinkedIn. Beyond these professional certifications, Maria-Jesus Blanco is a Mentor certified by the Mentoring Women's Network, although the specific details regarding the date and institution of this certification are unavailable.

Overall, Maria-Jesus Blanco has a diverse educational background, primarily focusing on Organic Chemistry and supplementing their knowledge with leadership and management training as well as professional certifications.