The event was presided over by the rector of the UMH, Juan Jos\u00e9 Ruiz Mart\u00ednez; the president of the UMH Social Council, Joaqu\u00edn P\u00e9rez V\u00e1zquez; the deputy vice-rector for Research Management of the University, Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda Azor\u00edn Poveda; the regional secretary of Universities of the Valencian Government, Esther G\u00f3mez Mart\u00edn; and the general secretary of the UMH, Mercedes S\u00e1nchez Castillo.<\/span><\/p>\n Mariana Concepci\u00f3n Castells has also inaugurated a tree bearing her name in the Garden of Honors on the Elche campus of the Miguel Hern\u00e1ndez University of Elche (UMH). Specifically, the newly minted Doctor Honoris Causa chose a date palm (Phoenix dactylifera). The Garden of Honors is located near the Rectorate and Social Council building and its purpose is to preserve and honor the various honorary doctorates conferred by the UMH. This initiative began several years ago, and in it, each recipient chooses a tree to be planted alongside informational signs displaying the recipient’s name, the common name and specific name of the tree, as well as a QR code with further details about the planted tree. The Garden of Honoris features a variety of trees, including palm trees, olive trees, pomegranate trees, carob trees, pines, elms, poplars, laurel, holm oaks, oaks, strawberry trees, and other less common species such as the Judas tree, coral tree, cedars, ginkgos, chinaberry, and catalpa. It also includes a fig tree, dedicated to Miguel Hern\u00e1ndez.<\/span><\/p>\n Since the 1990s, Castells Guitart has been a researcher and professor at Harvard Medical School (USA), where she directs the Center for Drug Desensitization and Hypersensitivity and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Mastocytosis Center. Her work has transformed how medicine addresses drug allergies, especially in cancer patients. She has developed drug desensitization protocols that are now applied as international standards, allowing thousands of people to continue their treatments without endangering their lives. Another of her key research areas is mastocytosis, a rare type of blood cancer that occurs when mast cells\u2014immune cells involved in allergies\u2014multiply and release inflammatory substances uncontrollably. Castells has established new diagnostic and therapeutic methods for mastocytosis and has spearheaded clinical trials with tyrosine kinase inhibitors, a class of drugs capable of halting this abnormal cell activation.<\/span><\/p>\n Invitation DHC Saint Thomas<\/a><\/p>\n CEREMONIAL ST THOMAS 2026 SPANISH<\/a><\/p>\n CEREMONIAL ST THOMAS 2026 VALENCIAN<\/a><\/p>\n SCHEDULE<\/a><\/p>\n LAUDATIO GOOFATHER MR. FCO JAVIER FERN\u00c1NDEZ S\u00c1NCHEZ<\/a><\/p>\n DISCURSO DHC MRS. MARIANA C. CASTELLS GUITART<\/a><\/p>\n UMH RECTOR’S SPEECH<\/a><\/p>\n INTERVIEW WITH MARIANA C. CASTELLS GUITART<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/comunicacion.umh.es\/files\/2026\/01\/28-01-26-honoris-birrete-galeria.jpg\")
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