About Us
Key Personnel & Founders
NEUROSTECH‘s founders and talented key personnel, linked to the University of Oviedo (UNIOVI) and the Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA), include experienced and young professionals with diverse and complementary technical backgrounds, building on the company’s roots since 2020.
Manuel Menéndez, MD, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Board President
Scientific Advisory Board Head
Prof. Manuel Menéndez-González earned his Ph.D. from the University of Oviedo in 2008 and has obtained postgraduate diplomas from several institutions, including University College London (UK). With over 25 years of clinical experience in managing neurological conditions, he currently serves as a neurologist at the Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias (HUCA) and as a Professor of Medicine at the University of Oviedo. His research specializes in the clinical and translational neuroscience of neurodegenerative diseases.
Manuel has more than 200 publications in international journals (h-index: 37), is a peer reviewer in 16 international journals, filed international patent applications, and is experienced in preclinical medical device development including proof of concept in animal models.
Prof. Menéndez-González serves as the President of NEUROSTECH’s scientific advisory board.
Gabriel Álvarez, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & CEO
Gabriel Álvarez completed his degree in Analytical Chemistry and Ph.D. at the University of Oviedo.
14 years experience in 2 biotech start-ups (Healthsens and NEUROSTECH) as key scientist and board member. Researcher in Fundación Neurociencias.
Catuxa Prado, Ph.D.
Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer
Catuxa Prado completed his degree in Biochemistry and Ph.D. at the University of Oviedo.
13 years experience in 3 biotech start-ups (Healthsens, Nanoker and NEUROSTECH) as key scientist and board member. Researcher in Fundación Neurociencias.
Francisco Morís, Ph.D.
Chief Business Development Officer
Francisco Morís has over 25 years of experience in the biotech industry across roles as a manager, entrepreneur, expert consultant, visiting professor and research scientist. Experienced in both small and large companies, cross-functional team work and coordination, project management, technology transfer and business development. Innovative researcher, strong publication (h-index 37) and patent record (20 families), skilled in business, operational and strategic planning, as well as fundraising from public and private sources.
Francisco received his Ph.D. in 1994 from the University of Oviedo and was a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla (USA). Dr Morís has worked in U.S. Biotech (ThermoGen, MediChem, deCode Genetics) and Pharma Companies (Bristol-Myers Squibb) before launching and leading EntreChem SL, a company for oncology drug development based on synthetic biology and genetic engineering. He served as Head of Development at CancerAppy SL, an Artificial Intelligence company for drug discovery and development. And is currently Member of the Board of Directors at Microviable Therapeutics SL, a developer of precision medicine microbiota-based therapies.
María Rodríguez Cañón, Ph.D.
Biomedical Engineer
María Rodríguez Cañón completed her B.S. degree in Biomedical and Medical Engineering at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, before completing a Master in the same topic at Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya. She received her Ph.D. in 2021 at the Department of Neuroscience at the University Autónoma of Barcelona.
Her work as a researcher has primarily focused on applied clinical solutions through engineering. Experience in preclinical and human’s studies as ERA-NET NEURON project researcher in interdisciplinary centers and hospitals.
Ester Pérez-Martín, Ph.D.
Neurobiologist
Ester Pérez Martín completed her B.S. degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Salamanca, followed by a Master in Neuroscience at the Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity and Neurorepair (Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, Spain). In 2022 she earned her Ph.D. from the University of Salamanca under the supervision of Eduardo Weruaga and David Díaz.
Ester is currently a Torres Quevedo postdoctoral researcher with expertise in neurodegenerative diseases, preclinical evaluation of innovative therapies and animal research bioethics. Member of both national and international research projects, collaborating closely with interdisciplinary and academic institutions.
Rafael Permuy Martínez
Co-founder
Rafael Permuy Martínez has studied Business Administration at both University of Oviedo and University of Ávila, as well as MBAs in Commercial and Marketing Management from FENA – ESIC Madrid, Human Resources Management from IMF – CEU San Pablo de Madrid, and in Finance and Organizational Management from FENA. He also completed a Strategic Management Program at the European University of Madrid and an IMS Health Management Program, in addition to attending numerous training courses in the pharmaceutical and surgical fields. This included three years in subspecialty courses at the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Rafael has accumulated over 20 years of experience at companies such as Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur MSD, Pharmacia & Upjohn, Allergan, Hartmann, and Angellini, where he has held various roles related to business development and market access to medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and health products, being part at Executive Committee level.
Apart from NEUROSTECH, Rafael is also co-founder and has experience as director of corporate development of three other biotechnology companies in the health sector: Microviable Therapeutics, which specializes in developing complete microbiota ecosystem products and microbiome therapies; Plabite, a biotech company that creates new drugs based on plaquetes, and Loutktar Robotics, that develops exoskeleton to help people after suffering a stroke.