Alejandro Fernández Barrero is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Granada. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1975 at the University of Salamanca. After working in the synthesis of steroids as Head of the Organic Chemistry (Laboratory in I+D CEPSA, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid), he returned to the University of Salamanca as Lecturer in 1983. He moved to the University of Granada as Full Professor in 1983, where he has been Head of the Organic Chemistry Department in three different periods. He was cofounder, President and Vice-president of the Natural Product Group of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry His main task as academician is the formation of specialists in Natural Products Chemistry, first in Salamanca (1975-1985) in the Faculty of Sciences or in the Faculty of Pharmacy, and from 1985 to nowadays in the University of Granada, while leading the research group “Biotecnología de Hongos y Síntesis de Moléculas Bioactivas”. This labor is reflected in the supervision of 51doctoral theses and more than one hundred of master and degree theses.
His research interest varies from i. The discovery of new natural products isolated either from plants growing in the Iberian Peninsula, North America, South America and North Africa, or from terrestrial and marine fungi. He focused these studies in the bioactivities of the new molecules, and in collaboration with geneticists, pharmacologists and biologists, their applications as drugs, phytohormones and perfumes. In this regard, he studied the active principles of plants as “manzanilla Real” (Artemisia granatensis), “Pinsapo” (Abies pinsapo), Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica) or the sexual pheromones of the carotene producing fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus. ii. Sustainable production of natural products, their uses as starting materials in synthesis and to develop bio-inspired strategies in cascade of reactions for the synthesis of high-added value molecules. The perfume fixer ambrox, or the anti-inflammatory principle of the legendary myrrh, that is myrrhanol A were produced using this approach. iii Develop of new bioplaguicides from natural sources and chemical synthesis by collaboration with researchers from ICA (CSIC, Madrid). Here new potent garrapaticides have been miss a point.
His intense scientific labor led to the publication of more than 280 scientific articles. He was editor of one book and author of four book chapters. His publications have received more 6000 cites, with more of 250 in each one of the last five years. He was editor of a special issue about Terpenoids in the journal Molecules, and of other issue about Natural Products Synthesis in the journal Natural Product Communications (NPC). He have been member of the Editorial Board of the journal Current Organic Chemistry and Editor of Natural Product Communications. He is co-inventor in ten patents obtaining terpenoids of interest in the industry. Two of these patents were licensed to a private company. He promoted the transference of results from R&D to the industrial sector, resulting in the creation of the company BIOFLOW SUR. He was scientific consultant and collaborator of different biotechnological companies. He have been invited Professor or given lectures up forty times in Universities, Scientific Meetings and Seminaries corresponding to ten different countries.
From an institutional point of view, he initiated and pushed the scientific collaboration between Spain and Morocco in the field of Organic Chemistry. He was also Spanish representative in the scientific network for the utilization of biomass of the Iberoamerican Cooperation Program (CYTED).
He was awarded with the Gold Medal and Prize to the Excellence in the Research in Natural Products Chemistry granted by the Specialized Group of Natural Products of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry.