On 24 June 2025, the Regional Minister of Health of the Government of Cantabria, César Pascual, presented the Award for International Trajectory in the Protection of the Right to Health to Professor Rafael Yuste Rojas, recognised as a ‘figure of international research relevance’. This award, promoted by the Regional Ministry of Health through the Health Law and Bioethics Research Group of the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL), recognises scientific excellence and commitment to the protection of the right to health at a global level.
The ceremony took place within the framework of the 18th Inter-autonomic Meeting on the Legal Protection of Patients, held at the Menéndez Pelayo International University (UIMP) in Santander. The event was attended by the Rector of the UIMP, Carlos Andradas, and the Director of Management of IDIVAL, Galo Peralta, together with the Minister César Pascual.
This award, which in previous editions has recognised outstanding researchers such as Dr Manuel Elkin Patarroyo (2018), Dr Valentín Fuster (2019), Dr María Blasco (2023) and Dr Ángel Carracero (2024), once again highlights top-level scientific work with a marked ethical and social commitment.
Professor Rafael Yuste is Professor of Neurobiology and Professor of Neuroscience at Columbia University, where he directs a leading centre in neurotechnology. His career combines cutting-edge research, ethical innovation and a strong defence of human rights. He is notably involved in the BRAIN project, one of the most important scientific initiatives of the 21st century, promoted by the White House to map human brain activity with unprecedented resolution.
Beyond his scientific impact, Professor Yuste has been a pioneer in warning about the risks that new technologies can pose to freedom, privacy and human identity. He is the creator of the concept of ‘neuro-rights’, an emerging category of fundamental rights that seeks to protect the mental and cerebral integrity of individuals from technologies capable not only of reading thoughts, but also of influencing them.
He has promoted the NeuroRights Foundation and coordinated the Morning Sight group, which brings together experts in neuroscience, law and ethics, successfully bringing his proposals to international bodies such as the United Nations and national parliaments. His work includes the book The Brain, the Theatre of the World, in which he invites us to understand the brain not just as an organ, but as the stage on which consciousness, memory and the capacity to be unfold.
Photo caption: from left to right Galo Peralta, Rafael Yuste, César Pascual and Carlos Andradas.
