Dr. Francisco J. Blanco is a rheumatologist at the Hospital Universitario A Coruña (Spain), scientific director of the Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña (INIBIC) and associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Santiago de Compostela. He trained as a rheumatologist at the 12 de Octubre Hospital of Madrid (1989–1992). He has been a tenured researcher at the University of California, San Diego-La Jolla during 1993 and 1994, obtaining a PhD from the University of A Coruña in 1998. Dr. Blanco leads a research group that studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cartilage destruction and repair in osteoarthritis, as well as searches for useful biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic response of rheumatic diseases. He is Secretary General of the Sociedad Internacional de Investigación en Artrosis (OARSI). In addition, he is a member of the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), belonging to the Red de Inflamación y Enfermedades Reumáticas (RIER) and is a regional director of the Red Nacional de Proteómica del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Proteo-Red/ISCIII). Dr. Blanco directs, at the University of A Coruña, the «Catedra-Bioibérica» which studies the degradation and reconstruction of joint cartilage and, since 2013, is the national coordinator for the Biology and Disease platform of the Human Proteomic Project (HPP).

Dr. M. José López-Armada is a researcher of the FIS Miguel Servet program, belonging to the ISCIII. She studied Biology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 1990. She began to do research along with Dr. Egido; with him, the development of her doctoral thesis led to an extraordinary award in 1995. Her contact with Rheumatology began in 1996 at the laboratory of Dr. Herrero-Beaumont, being a member of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology (SER) since 1997.

In 2000, she began doing research with the Ramón y Cajal program associated to the Rheumatology group led by Dr. Francisco J. Blanco at the Hospital Universitario de A Coruña. She currently leads to research group of Aging and Inflammation at the INIBIC. During this period she has edited a total of 40 PubMed indexed publications, 6 book chapters and has presented around 200 abstracts at national and international meetings. She has also obtained around 14 projects as the principal researcher. In relation to her activity as an academician, she in an evaluator for ANECA since 2006, as well as different scientific publications. She is a member of the INIBIC research committee and the Comité Ético de Experimentación Animal of CHUAC. Finally, in relation to teaching, she collaborates with the University of A Coruña in the development of 2 masters and their respective doctorate programs. She has been a tutor a director of the work of 7 predoctoral researchers which has, up to this moment, led to 4 doctoral thesis.

Her current line of work centers on the study of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the processes involved in aging, opening new possibilities for the development of pharmacologic or lifestyle interventions that significantly delay the aging process.

Dr. Benjamín Fernández-Gutiérrez graduated from medicine at the Universidad del País Vasco in 1985. HE trained as a rheumatologist at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos (1987–1991). He obtained a scholarship at the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria during 1991–1992. He is a Rheumatology teacher at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos since 1992. He is a Doctor in Medicina from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in 1995. He has been a tutor of Rheumatology residents at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos from 1997 to 2012. He is an associate professor at the Department of Medicine of the UC; since 2005. He was a visiting researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares in 2005 and 2006. He is the head professor at the University since 2012.

Dr. Benjamín Fernández-Gutiérrez leads a group of researchers who study the physiopathologic repair and immunomodulation mechanisms mediated by mesenchymal cells in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, his group studies the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms related to musculoskeletal disease. He is a member of the Society of Rheumatology of the Community of Madrid (SOR-COM), of the SER and OARSI. He is the head of research of the Hospital Clínico San Carlos, belonging to RIER. Responsible for the Sala Blanca of the Hospital Clínico San Carlos.