Gertrudis de la Fuente

Gertrudis de la Fuente Sánchez (21 August 1921 – 23 January 2017) was a Spanish biochemist who specialised in enzymology. She was a professor in the Spanish National Research Council in Madrid. She coordinated the Spanish government's commission to protect against the 1981 toxic oil syndrome. Her life and scientific career was partially chronicled in the short film, Gertrudis (la mujer que no enterró sus talentos), which was released in 2016.

Early life and education Gertrudis de la Fuente Sánchez was born in Madrid, Spain on 21 August 1921, the daughter of a train driver. In 1935 she moved to Madrid, where she began to study for her baccalaureate, but was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War. In 1970 the Institute of Enzymology relocated to the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. She won the Club of 25 Award for her contributions to science. She died in 2017, and was remembered as being "active and serene" and "steadfast in equality – for women and in general" by María Jesús Santesmases.