Symposium Between Neurons and Legacy

A forthcoming tribute at the Instituto Cajal takes shape as the living nexus between the Nobel laureate’s heritage and the future of Spanish neuroscience; a ritual of intellectual and spiritual transfer with the new Cajal Centre for Neuroscience as its horizon.

Introduction: The Knot of the Legacy

On 24 November 2025, in the auditorium of the Instituto Cajal-CSIC on Avenida del Doctor Arce in Madrid, the atmosphere will be charged with something more than the formality of a tribute. There will be a sense of solemn transition — the end of an era and the baptism of the next. The institution, centennial custodian of the world’s neuroscience legacy, is in the midst of a profound metamorphosis: its physical and intellectual move to the vast new facilities of the Cajal Centre for Neuroscience (CNC) in Alcalá de Henares, a 70-million-euro project already inaugurated and operational.

The event that will bring together the elite of Spanish neuroscience is titled “Symposium Between Neurons and Legacy: Juan A. de Carlos and the Imprint of Cajal.” This title is not mere poetic flourish. It is a literal description of the “double helix” that forms the DNA of Spanish research, and the man being honoured, Dr. Juan A. de Carlos, has been, for decades, the living embodiment of that duality. In his figure converge two parallel careers of extraordinary calibre: on one hand, the “Neurons,” as a CSIC Scientific Researcher and head of the Telencephalon Development group; on the other, the “Legacy,” as head of the Cajal Legacy Service.

Part I. The “Neurons”: The School of Master Juan de Carlos

The first session will focus on the foundational pillar of his career: pure research. Dr. Laura López-Mascaraque, CSIC Research Professor at the Instituto Cajal, will open with “Juan De Carlos, neurohistologist: from apprentice to master of the developing brain.” Her participation validates neurohistology as a living and fundamental science, establishing an unbroken intellectual lineage from Cajal’s silver stain, through De Carlos’s studies of brain development, to her own dynamic in vivo tracing techniques such as “StarTrack.”

Fernando García-Moreno, now an Ikerbasque Research Professor at the Achúcarro Basque Center for Neuroscience, will provide the human evidence with “Juan A. de Carlos as mentor.” His testimony illustrates that a great mentor does not create clones but successors who expand the field.

Part II. The “Legacy”: Custodianship Beyond the Laboratory

The second session will mark a decisive transition, exploring the “Legacy” not as a dusty archive but as a living heritage that has required cultural, bureaucratic, and political battles.

Fernando de Castro Soubriet will address how the archives of Cajal and his principal disciples came to be inscribed as UNESCO Memory of the World Heritage. Santiago Ramón y Cajal Agüeras, of the Hospital Vall d’Hebron, will speak on “Cajal and his visionary ideas: a history of Nobel Prizes.”

The symposium also addresses the “Museum Paradox”: despite UNESCO recognition and the declaration as a Cultural Heritage Asset (BIC) in April 2024, the promised Cajal Museum remains unrealised.

Part III. The Synthesis: The Man Who Unites the Two Cultures

The intellectual and emotional climax will be the intervention of the honouree himself. Juan A. de Carlos’s talk is titled with a modest, rhetorical question: “What have I done (in Neuroscience) to deserve this?” The answer lies precisely in the totality of his career — one that rejects the false dichotomy between science and the humanities. He has been the rare embodiment of C. P. Snow’s “Two Cultures” in a single person.

Part IV. The Gesture: The Donation of Facsimiles

The symposium will culminate with the donation of facsimiles of Cajal’s teaching panels to the Instituto Cajal, presented by Pedro Ramón y Cajal Agüeras. Donating facsimiles is the most intelligent act of patronage possible: it “frees” the image from the tyranny of the original. These high-quality copies will be able to hang in the halls, laboratories, and classrooms of the new CNC, fulfilling exactly the didactic function that Cajal intended a century ago, while the originals remain safely preserved.

Conclusion: The Future Anchored in History

The Director, Liset Menéndez de la Prida, will close the event. By presiding over and framing this symposium, she makes her declaration of intent: the new CNC will not be a generic “Centre for Neuroscience” without a face. It will remain the Instituto Cajal. This symposium is the manifesto of its director, anchoring an ambitious future in the most powerful and recognised scientific legacy on the planet.