Jimena Fernández de la Vega

Jimena Fernández de la Vega y Lombán (June 3, 1895 – May 20, 1984) was a Spanish doctor, geneticist, professor, and one of the first Galician women to earn a medical degree. She specialized in medical genetics and worked closely with prominent Spanish scientists including , Gustavo Pittaluga, and Gregorio Marañón. She was also the first director of the Genetics and Constitution Section at the University of Madrid's Faculty of Medicine, which served as a gateway for the development of genetics in Spanish medicine. Alongside her twin sister Elisa, she is remembered as a trailblazer for women in Spanish higher education and medicine. Fernández de la Vega spent her later years as medical director of various spas in Spain engaged in balneotherapy, a traditional medicine technique. She died in 1984 in Santiago de Compostela.

In recognition of her contributions and impact, she was recognized as the "Scientist of the Year 2021" by the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences. Her niece, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, is a magistrate and known for being the first first female deputy prime minister of Spain.

Early life and education Jimena Fernández de la Vega was born on June 3, 1895 The "institutos" likely served as preparatory schools. Fernández de la Vega obtained an outstanding grade in both literature and science in her final degree exam in 1913. After passing the preparatory course, they continued studying medicine under the guidance of professor Nóvoa Santos and published research articles on pathophysiological studies of the cerebellum in the journal Galicia Médica,

During their studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Jimena and Elisa Fernández de la Vega encountered skepticism and hostility from both instructors and fellow students, who questioned the suitability of women pursuing medical careers. Until the Royal Order of 8 March 1910, women could not enroll in public university degrees—only in private faculties by special dispensation. In one reported incident, an anatomy professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela barred Jimena and Elisa Fernández de la Vega from his dissection theatre, deeming it inappropriate for women to view a naked male cadaver.

Despite these challenges, the sisters continued their education and in June 1919 became among the first women to earn medical degrees from a Galician university. In September 1919, both sisters took the competitive exams for the 'Extraordinary Prize', and Fernández de la Vega obtained one of the two prizes. She was in Berlin for six months studying biometry with physicians Friedrich Kraus and Theodor Brugsh. Following the advice of Edwin Baur, she relocated to Hamburg to study genetics under Hermann Poll, a prominent German geneticist and eugenicist. She began translating the works of Baur and other German physiologists, with the aim of publishing the knowledge acquired in Germany and Austria within the Spanish academic community.

In 1930, European researchers Hermann Poll and Julius Baur visited Madrid as guests for several conferences. Poll suggested to physiologist Augusto Pi Suñer, then a member of the Council of Culture of the Ministry of Public Instruction, to create a specialized laboratory in Spain for the study of human genetics. in 1935, the first Spanish text about human genetics written by a physician, She also took responsibility of raising her sister Elisa's children after Elisa died in 1933 and Elisa's husband moved to Argentina. In 1945, she took the competitive exams to become a medical hydrologist, a balneologist. She published several other works in medical hydrology, before her final publication on genetics, Theory of Heredity and Molecular Inheritance'' in 1963. Over the next few decades, she managed the medical services for several spas such as Montemayor (Cáceres) and Lanjarón (Granada), applying her knowledge of balneotherapy and medicine, until her retirement. Along with her sister Elisa, she is known for overcoming societal barriers for women to pursue higher education and a professional career in the early 20th century. The Royal Galician Academy of Sciences honored her as the Scientist of the Year 2021 "to make known her figure as an example of a woman scientist, in times when it was not easy to be admitted and recognized". followed in 2021 by the designation of streets nearby Higher Technical School of Engineering in Spain in her and her sister Elisa’s names. María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, Spain's first female deputy prime minister, is the niece of Fernández de la Vega. In a video tribute to the de la Vega sisters, she spoke of their courage and its influence on her own path.

Selected works