Sara García Alonso

Sara García Alonso was born in 1989 in Spain.

Education

Sara received her bachelor’s degree in biotechnology in 2012 and a master’s degree in biomedical and biological research in 2013, both from the University of León in Spain. She was awarded two different prizes for her academic excellence. 

In 2018, she obtained a cum laude PhD in Molecular Biology of cancer and translational medicine from the University of Salamanca (Spain), being awarded the University’s Outstanding Doctorate Award for the best doctoral thesis in medicine. 

Sara is fluent in Spanish, English and has basic knowledge of French and Portuguese.

Experience

During her PhD, Sara worked as a research assistant for the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), focusing on personalized cancer medicine.

Since 2019, she has been working as a research scientist at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), leading pioneering projects to discover new treatments for lung and pancreatic cancer.

In 2021, she completed a 6-month executive programme on science and technology entrepreneurship at the IE Business school.

Sara is a passionate science communicator, with numerous conferences and events aimed at motivating young people to pursue STEM careers, and she actively promotes the benefits of science and the space sector.

She has received numerous awards, including the Ada Byron Young Award 2023, the Silver Medal of the Community of Madrid, and the title of Distinguished Daughter of León, as well as being listed among the top 35 female technology leaders in Spain and the top 100 most influential women in Spain, according to Forbes magazine.

Sara is a sport enthusiast. She is certified as an Open Water Diver and has knowledge of Krav Maga and skydiving.

ESA experience

In November 2022, Sara was selected as a member of the ESA Astronaut Reserve, becoming the first Spanish woman to achieve this milestone. In October 2024, she began the first of three two-month astronaut reserve training programmes at ESA's European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.