Justo P. Castaño
Professor of Cell Biology in the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology at the University of Cordoba and researcher in charge of the Hormones and Cancer group at the Maimonides Institute of Biomedical Research of Cordoba (IMIBIC)
Who isn’t familiar with his excessive self-promotion and his role in the Human Genome Project? I mention his name and his main, best-known project in my Master’s in Biomedicine classes to explain what his initiative meant for the truly revolutionary transformation that our understanding of the human body has undergone at the start of the 21st century. A turning point, quite literally.
I consider him a visionary who turned what for many was unthinkable or impossible into an achievable challenge. It is true that he is surrounded by much controversy because his views on too many matters are more than just questionable, but it would be difficult to understand our knowledge of the human genome without his transformative drive. When he spearheaded the proposal to sequence the human genome, the cost of doing so was estimated to exceed 3 billion dollars, and amongst other controversial decisions, he placed himself at the centre of the project, ensuring that his own genome was also sequenced.
Today, a human genome can be sequenced for less than €500, and sooner rather than later it will be possible to do so for just over €100. That all this has happened in less than 30 years is truly impressive.
Part of the progress made during this period is due to controversial and unique figures such as Craig Venter. The perspective of time will allow us to assess, with objective criteria, the true contribution to scientific progress of the initiatives he led.