© Pablo Ayala

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Pablo Ayala (right) met Susumu Kitagawa, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 (left).

Conferences and Collaborations

Pablo Ayala goes to prestigious conferences on MOFs (nobel prize winning field in 2025)

The Lions Prize enabled Pablo Ayala to participate in two major international conferences in the field of Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs): the International MOF Conference 2024 in Singapore and EuroMOF 2025 in Crete. Both events provided outstanding opportunities for scientific exchange, collaboration building, and presentation of recent results.

At the International MOF Conference in Singapore, Pablo Ayala established key collaborations with Andrew K. Inge (Stockholm) and Prof. Christian Serre (Paris). These partnerships are now at the core of several ongoing projects. For instance, the elucidation of a newly synthesized MOF structure by Ayala will be carried out using cutting-edge instrumentation available in Stockholm. Together with Prof. Serre’s renowned group and backed up by the Eder group, Ayala is pursuing cutting-edge research on photocatalysis and, more importantly, on pioneering photocharging experiments with the unique MOF structures from Paris. Such work would not have been possible without the connections made at this event.

In addition, the conference provided the unique opportunity to meet 2025’s chemistry Nobel Laureate Prof. Susumu Kitagawa in person and exchange ideas, while also attending inspiring lectures by Prof. Omar Yaghi, Nobel Laureate of 2025 as well for their pioneering work on MOFs.

The Lions Prize further supported Pablo Ayala’s participation in EuroMOF 2025 in Crete, where he presented these ongoing projects. His contribution was recognized with the Best Poster Award, underlining the strong impact of his research. Beyond strengthening established collaborations, EuroMOF also opened doors to new academic contacts, including potential opportunities for future postdoctoral research stays around the globe.

Part of the prize funds will be dedicated to follow-up visits to collaborators, particularly to Prof. Serre’s group in Paris, in order to deepen the cooperation and ensure long-term joint research endeavors.

“The Lions Prize has been pivotal in advancing my scientific career, both by enabling access to world-leading expertise and facilities, and by fostering the kind of collaborations that will shape the next stages of my research,” says Ayala.