Maria Jesús Uriz Lespe

María Jesús (Iosune) Uriz Lespe (Estella, Navarra; 25 December 1949) is a pioneer in taxonomy, biology and population genetics of marine sponges, with a wide international recognition. In recent years she has focused her research on evolutionary and functional aspects of the symbiotic relationships between sponges and microorganisms, interacting with the renowned American specialist Lynn Margulis. Her line of research in the biological activities of sponge secondary metabolites gave rise to a continued collaboration with pharmaceutical companies that have allowed the development of antitumor drugs. Provided by Wikipedia