Nestor Torres

Professor Torres has developed activities in the areas of research, teaching and university management as well as management for the Government of the Canary Islands; science divulgator and servicing of various regional actors.

The main research activity has been developed in the area Systems Biology. Emphasis has been on the development of mathematical models of biological systems of different nature, from molecular to ecosystems. In this field he has published more than 50 articles in scientific journals a book by Cambridge University Press, which has been also translated to Chinese. He is also author of book chapters and articles of popular science.

Director of numerous research projects (regional, national and European) and evaluator for numerous scientific journals and publishers as well as numerous research agencies of different regions and states: Government of the Canary Islands; Spanish Scientific Evaluation Agency; Austrian Fund for Science; National Science Foundation (USA); Welcome Trust (United Kingdom); National Agency of Scientific and Technological Promotion (ANPCyT; Argentina); European Union and the Slovak Research and Development Agency. He has been visiting scholar to the university of Edinburgh (UK), Complutense de Madrid (Spain), Technical University of Vienna (Austria); University of Michigan (USA), Universidad Central de Venezuela (Venezuela); Technical University of Lotz (Poland); National Institute of Chemistry (Slovenia) and Universidad Nacional de Quilmes (Argentina).

He has been member of many University of La Laguna’s Governing bodies: University of La Laguna Governing Board; Director of the Secretariat for Academic Affairs, Secretary of the Commission of Doctoral Studies; Coordinator of the Committee on Degree Curriculum. He is currently member of the Board of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of La Laguna and of the Board of the Faculty of Biology, as well as the Commission and Doctoral and Graduate Studies.

He was the Director (2004-2007) of the Canary Island Agency of University Quality Assessment.

He is is currently the Secretary of the Spanish Network Systems Biology; member of the Council of Experts of the Agency for Quality University of Castilla-La Mancha; consultant for UNIQUAL, the High Education Quality Assessment Agency of the Vasque Country; Coordinator at the University of La Laguna on the agenda of the OECD-IMHE “On Quality Teaching and Improvement” and member of the National Commission on Accreditation for University Associated Professors of the Spanish Agency for the Assessment of Quality and Accreditation. He is an evaluator for different university quality agencies evaluator at national (Spain) and regional level (Canary Islands, Andalucía, Castilla-La Mancha and Vasque Country).

He has been adviser and consultant for the General Directorate of Universities and Research of the Canary Islands Government to design policies and strategies conducive to the implementation of the European Space of Higher Education in the Canary University System. From 2004 to 2007 was the Canary Island Regional Coordinator of the project IMHE-OECD "Supporting the Institutions of Higher Education Contribution to Regional Development". That project produced two reports on the status of higher education system in the Canary Islands and the role of universities as agents of regional development.